Farming

• Farmers plough the land to grow cereals, such as wheat and barley, and vegetables
• Farmers rear animals for meat and milk
• Farmers help to preserve the countryside for us all to enjoy
• The farming system consists of several enterprises like cropping system, dairying, poultry, fishery, beekeeping, etc
• Enterprises in the farming system are interrelated, with the end product and wastes of one enterprise used as inputs in others
• Input in farming includes physical factors like weather, land, water, and human factors like labour, money, and machinery
• Processes in farming include activities like ploughing, harvesting, and milking to turn input into output
• Output in farming includes various products obtained from the farm such as crops and animal products
• FYM stands for Farm Yard Manure
• Fodder crops are food crops grown to be fed to animals
• The most important fodder crop is grass
• Silage is a fodder that’s been fermented to feed cattle or sheep during dry seasons or winter
• Mixed farming involves cultivation of crops along with rearing of animals to increase income
• Crops residues in mixed farming are efficiently utilized as feed for animals and for preparing FYM/compost
• Different types of farming in Europe are influenced by climate, with variations from forestry in the north to dairying in the west
• Mediterranean farming in southern Europe is ideal for crops like citrus fruit, grapes, tomatoes, and olives
• Dairy farming in northwestern Europe benefits from high rainfall and mild winters
• Mixed farming in interior parts of Europe involves growing crops and rearing animals like pigs and cattle
• Sheep farming in southern Europe and northwestern UK/Ireland is suited to harsh weather conditions of mountain areas
• Cereal farming in Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, and Poland includes crops like wheat, barley, and oats
• Reindeer farming in extreme northern Europe provides meat and skins for the Sami people
• Unsuitable areas in Scandinavia and Iceland are used for forestry due to unsuitability for farming
• Farm diversification involves branching out from traditional farming by adding new money-making activities
• Farm diversification activities include inviting families to interact with animals, creating go-kart tracks, fishing lakes, and farm shops
• The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU implements agricultural subsidies and programs to support farmers and rural development
• The CAP aims to increase food production, provide farmers with a secure income, and offer reasonably priced food to people
• Environmental problems from the CAP include loss of hedgerows, chemical pollution, and draining of wetland habitats
• Reforms to the CAP include milk quotas, reducing butter surplus, reduction in guaranteed prices, and land set-aside
• Sheep farming is practiced in some parts of southern Europe and the northwestern part of the United Kingdom and Ireland
• Sheep are well suited to harsh weather conditions of mountain areas
• Sheep can live on poor-quality grass
• Cereal farming is practiced in most parts of Spain and the northern part of France, Belgium, Germany, and Poland
• Crops include wheat, barley, and oats
• These crops grow in areas that are fairly dry and where summers are warm and sunny to help the crops ripen
• Farmers use large machinery in these huge, flat fields to harvest large quantities efficiently
• Reindeer farming is practiced in the extreme northern part of Norway, Russia, and some parts of Finland
• Reindeer are handy and can survive the intense cold of North European winters
• Reindeer graze grassland and forest floors
• Reindeer provide meat and skins for the Sami people who rear them
• Reindeer are also sold to buy food and other items