The crop yield in extensive agriculture depends primarily on the natural fertility of the soil, the terrain, the climate, and the…, Origins of agriculture, the active production of useful plants or animals in ecosystems that have been created by people. This technique demands utmost caution and thorough study, as it could go all wrong, if not managed properly. Animal agriculture (most of which is raised intensively) accounts for large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, including 37% of all methane emissions and 65% of nitrous oxide. Intensive and extensive agriculture stands in opposition to one another in many ways. Achieving these unnatural results requires high degrees of human manipulation. © Farm Management Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. It produces good quality food without using any chemical fertilizer or pesticides, helps reduce diseases, and lowers the environmental impact. What Are The Characteristics Of Intensive Farming? Advantages of Intensive Farming. The future generations of individuals on this planet are owed an exploration of alternatives before it is too late. Each of these products has deleterious effects on environmental and human health. (ii) Features of intensive farming: (a) High yielding variety (HYV) seeds and modern chemical inputs and irrigation are used to increase the production. This is a biointensive agriculture that causes increase in yield per unit area, yield per energy input, yield per water input, etc. Yet this system is unstable and ultimately unsustainable. Monocropping is a defining feature of intensive plant agriculture. Animals are kept in smaller spaces, thus reducing the requirement for more energy, food as well as space. Heavy use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers also affects the workers (who spray the pesticides) and the people residing nearby. Characteristics of extensive farming include: -larger farms and stations. There are two basic forms of intensive agriculture: non-industrial and industrial. Advantages and Disadvantages of Intensive Farming, How to Speed Up Planting on No-Till Farms, The Role of Smart Farming in Developing Sustainable…, Top 10 Things We Are Noticing About Precision Agriculture, What’s the key role of farmers in providing food…, Precision Farming – Use Farming Tech to Improve Agronomy, Trimble Launches Farmer Core to Connect the Entire Farm Operation, The Role of Smart Farming in Developing Sustainable Agriculture, Modern agricultural technology adoption and its importance. Egg-laying hens are crammed into battery cages and debeaked in order to prevent them from killing one another in such close confines, while male chicks – who are considered useless in egg production – are ground up alive by the millions. There are many advantages and disadvantages of intensive farming. Women began to be relegated to the private arena; they became the homemakers while men engaged in public work, farming, politics, etc. They aren’t able to even turn around for the majority of their lives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference, 2006. Female pigs, called breeding sows, are forcibly impregnated and held in gestation crates, which are metal cages not much bigger than their own bodies. Harris, Marvin and Oran Johnson. There are different types of agriculture production systems that includes extensive farming and intensive farming. Intensive farming not only involves horticulture, but also livestock farming. The former is dependent on human labor and draft animals, while the latter is reliant on machinery. The intensive farming techniques involves extensive input of capital, labor as well as pesticides and fertilizers to raise crops on a smaller land area. Bayer, which acquired the notorious pesticide company Monsanto in 2018, has been the target of lawsuits alleging that glyphosate, an ingredient in its popular weed killer called Roundup, is carcinogenic. Chemical hormones are often used in industrial agriculture in order to maximize yields. This helps the farmer cut down on his cost of production and increase his profit. Animals caught up within intensive agriculture operations – and there are billions of them around the world at any given time – are undoubtedly the most drastically impacted by the rise of factory farms. Agriculture corporations acquire. After giving birth, they are transferred to farrowing crates that allow the young to suckle, but no other contact with the mother is permitted. Claimants in these lawsuits are. Industrial crop production hampers the ability of soil to act as a carbon sequester, ultimately turning it into a carbon emitter. Regarding animal operations, male workers were. Disadvantages of Intensive Farming. One of the most well-known is Bovine somatotropin, or bovine growth hormone, which is used to increase milk production in lactating cows. Particularly within fish aquaculture operations that are located in bays or estuaries in the ocean, risks of environmental pollution, and the spread of disease such as sea lice to wild populations is a serious concern. Intensive farming is the latest technique used to yield high productivity by keeping large number of livestock indoors and using excessive amount of chemical fertilizers on a tiny acreage. Beyond climatic concerns, intensive agriculture produces vast amounts of pollution. With the advent of industrial agriculture other changes occurred. Jay Rayner, a restaurant critic of the Observer says, Sure, it might be cruel, but intensive farming saves lives. Intensive farming is characterized by higher yields wrested from plants, animals, and the earth, motivated by a desire for more product for less money. People became more dependent on one another as occupational specialization developed. Pastoral production, where animals are grazed outdoors for their entire lives or are tended to by nomadic farmers – is a type of extensive agriculture, as are operations that favor greater plant and crop diversity. Because of its prevalence within North America, industrial intensive farming will be the focus of this article. However, in such societies overproduction (beyond market demands) often results in diminished profit as a result of depressed prices. “Haidas.” In Encyclopedia of Anthropology, Vol. Aquaculture involves the farming of marine animals including fish, algae, and other organisms  – even octopus are being considered for intensive farming. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Multinational corporations oversee vast production facilities, churning out incredible amounts of food for an ever-growing population, and amassing tremendous profits all the while.