Extensive farming
Extensive farming, also known as extensive agriculture, is an agricultural approach characterized by the use of large plots of land with minimal labor and resources to produce food. This method contrasts with intensive farming, which aims for high productivity on smaller land areas through significant investment in machinery, labor, and agricultural inputs. While extensive farming may yield less than its intensive counterpart, it offers a viable solution for those who may lack the resources for more capital-heavy farming methods, or who prefer traditional agricultural practices. This style of farming is often seen in rural areas and is particularly suited for livestock management, where maintaining small herds can provide sustenance for families and communities.
Many nomadic groups utilize extensive farming techniques, allowing them to care for livestock while accommodating their mobile lifestyles. Additionally, this method is often praised for its environmental sustainability, as it typically employs fewer chemicals and less machinery, contributing to the preservation of natural ecosystems. Advocates for animal welfare also argue that extensive farming is more humane, as it often allows animals to lead healthier lives compared to those raised in intensive systems. Overall, extensive farming serves as an important practice for individuals and communities that prioritize sustainability, cultural heritage, and animal welfare.
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Extensive farming
Extensive farming refers to agricultural techniques that allow farmers to grow crops using large plots of farmland with comparatively small amounts of labor. These techniques are not necessarily efficient when compared to modern industrialized farming. However, they allow people who cannot access intensive farming methods, as well as anyone who might be morally or culturally opposed to intensive farming, to provide food for their community.
Many historic farming practices are considered extensive farming. For example, modern nomadic peoples use extensive farming when caring for their livestock. Proponents of extensive farming argue that the practice is more sustainable and better for the environment than intensive farming.
Background
Agriculture refers to the means by which humans produce much of the food needed by modern society. The term is often used in reference to large-scale farming, which allows a comparatively small number of people to produce far more food than they need in a given growing season. The excess food is sold, so much of the population can eat without producing their own food. Despite the monumental importance of this task, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reports that farm laborers are among the lowest-paid workers in the United States.
In addition to providing much of the food needed by society, farming benefits people in other ways. Crops provide raw materials for textile goods. Farming also supports dairy and fuel industries. Agriculture enables nations to engage in trade, fostering strong economies and economic interdependence.
Agriculture encompasses more than just food. It includes livestock farming, which provides people with meat, leather, and other resources. Commercial fishing and fish farming are also types of agriculture. Collectively, these industries have become an important part of the economies of many nations.
Overview
Extensive farming, also called extensive agriculture, is an agricultural system intended to produce the largest possible yield from land with minimal labor and resources. It is commonly contrasted with intensive farming, which seeks to maximize the amount of productivity from a limited plot of land. Intensive farming uses large machinery, many laborers, and a great deal of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Because it requires a massive amount of capital, labor, and equipment, intensive farming produces greater yields than extensive farming.
Farmers and landowners may turn to extensive farming for any number of reasons. The land available may not be suitable for intensive farming, which would make it a poor investment of resources. The region may intend to grow products that are not suitable for intensive farming, providing only a marginal increase in yields relative to the resources invested. In some regions, farming through traditional practices has significant cultural value. Farmers may continue to practice less efficient agricultural methods because the region seeks to maintain its unique agricultural practices. However, the most common region for engaging in extensive agriculture is that the local farmers are unable to invest the large quantities of initial resources necessary to engage in intensive farming.
Whether a farm employes extensive or intensive farming often depends on the situation and location. Farms in regions where the economy demands higher profit margins to remain viable are more likely to opt for intensive farming. Consequentially, farms in regions where the economy is more forgiving are more likely to operate through extensive farming due to its significantly lower resource demands. Farms that are closer to cities, particularly large cities and major metropolitan areas, are more likely to use intensive farming. Extensive farming is most common in rural regions.
Certain types of farming, such as livestock farming, are most likely to employ extensive farming. Breeding, maintaining, and butchering dozens of large animals requires a large infrastructure and many workers. However, a single farmer can use a comparatively small amount of land to maintain a single herd of hardy animals. These animals can serve as sources of meat or dairy for both the farmer and the local community, providing sustenance and income. Creating the same amount of resources through growing plants would require significantly more investment.
Most forms of non-commercial farming, such as subsistence farming, are considered extensive farming. Individuals working to provide food for their families are unlikely to have the resources necessary to begin intensive farming. However, a single family can often work together to maintain some livestock and grow enough vegetables and other edible plants to feed themselves throughout the year. Though commercial farming is more common than subsistence farming in urban areas, much of the world still practices subsistence farming as a primary or supplementary source of nutrition.
Nomadic communities throughout the world are more likely to practice extensive farming. Maintaining a large farm is out of reach for these communities and not their preferred way of living. However, small herds of animals can commonly travel alongside a group of people. Extensive farming allows nomadic communities to maintain these herds while still carrying out the numerous tasks that such a lifestyle demands.
Extensive farming is praised by activist groups for being environmentally friendly. Because the practice uses less machinery and land and fewer chemicals, the process preserves the natural environment better than intensive agriculture. Furthermore, animals reared in intensive systems often live cruel, short lives. Animal rights activists contend that good food systems should consider the well-being of animals instead of exposing them to pain. They do not think of animals as commodities that should be produced for profit. For these and other reasons, activists advocate for major intensive farming hubs to revert to extensive farming.
Bibliography
Bennett, John W. “Ecosystemic Effects of Extensive Agriculture.” Annual Review of Anthropology, 1973, www.jstor.org/stable/2949257. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.
Harvey, Fiona. “Can We Ditch Intensive Farming—And Still Feed the World?” The Guardian, 28 Jan. 2024, www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/28/can-we-ditch-intensive-farming-and-still-feed-the-world. Accessed 22 Mar. 2024.
Langlois, Alban, et al. “Contribution of Extensive Farming Practices to the Supply of Floral Resources for Pollinators.” Insects, 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7699504/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.
Latruff, Laure, et al. “Identifying and Assessing Intensive and Extensive Technologies in European Dairy Farming.” European Review of Agricultural Economics, vol. 50, no. 4 Sept. 2023, pp. 1482–1519, doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbad023. Accessed 22 Mar. 2024.
“Why Is Agriculture Important? Benefits and Its Role.” Maryville University, 12 July 2022, online.maryville.edu/blog/why-is-agriculture-important/#what-is. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.