GCSE Revision - Agriculture - Factors & Systems

Factors affecting Farming

Physical

  • Rainfall - Crops need between  250mm & 500mm per year

  • Temperature - Crops need a minimum of 6 degrees C and three months of 17 degrees to ripen

  • Growing Season - This is the length of time crops need to grow - wheat needs 90 frost free days

  • Altitude - The higher you are the colder it gets so this affects the type of farming

  • Aspect - This is the direction a slope faces - South facing slopes receive more heat

  • Relief - Steep slopes result in thin and infertile soils and machinery is difficult to use

  • Soil - Deep, fertile and well drained soil is best for crops

Human Factors

  • Labour - Farming requires either human labour or machinery

  • Market - This is the demand for the agricultural products

  • Accessibility - Transport costs increase with distance from the market

  • Subsidies - Governments provide money to encourage certain types of farming

  • Quotas - Governments can also place limits on certain products to prevent surpluses

  • Attitudes - Personnel interests of the public and farmer will also influence what is grown

  • Finance  - This may influence what is grown as certain types of farming need more capital

The Farm as a system
Farming operates as a system with inputs, processes and outputs

Inputs

  • Relief -

  • Temperature

  • Precipitation

  • Length of growing season

  • Soil type

  • Farm size

  • Machinery

Processes

  • Ploughing

  • Fertilising

  • Harvesting

  • Milking

  • Lambing/Calving

  • Planting

Outputs

  • Grain - Barley/Wheat etc

  • Flowers

  • Vegetables

  • Animals - Calves/lambs/piglets

  • Milk/Wool

Classification of Farming Types

Arable - Pastoral - Mixed

Subsistence or Commercial

Arable - is the growing of crops
Pastoral - is the keeping of animals
Mixed - is when farmers grow crops and rear animals

Subsistence Farmers - produce food for themselves and their family, there is no profit
Commercial Farmers - sell their crops and animals to make a profit

Intensive or Extensive

Sedentary or Nomadic

Intensive - High inputs of money, labour or technology to achieve high outputs or yields per hectare. The farms are usually quite small
Extensive - Low inputs, large areas of land, low outputs or yields per hectare

Sedentary is when the settlement is permanent and the landscape farmed every year
Nomadic farmers move around looking for fresh pasture or new plots to cultivate

Links - Revision DVD

Common Questions

  • What are the main physical/Human inputs into a farm

  • What physical/ Human factors affect farming

  • What is a subsistent/commercial/extensive/intensive farmer

  • Define the term - Arable Farming