Intensive Farming

Intensive farming is a way of producing vast amounts of crops by using numerous chemicals and machines. These practices include growing high-yield crops, using fertilisers, pesticides and keeping animals indoors. Food production is increased however there are various advantages and disadvantages of this particular method. An example of this method would be conventional chicken farming. This method may be used by farmers due to predators e.g. foxes killing their free range chickens, minimising their profit. However if they are kept indoors this is not a problem.
Battery Farming is an industrial confinement system. It is where animals e.g. Poultry – Chickens, are kept within an imprisoned environment such as cage or restricted to the proximity of an indoor surroundings. Farmers enclose animals as it reduces energy transferred to the environment; instead it is used for the growth of the animal. When turkeys are deprived of exercise all of their body’s energy goes towards production of goods e.g. eggs for human consumption. Farmers obviously relish this as they are able to have bigger animals and more products resulting in more money.
There are assorted advantages and disadvantages, the advantages include; Farmers are able to have close control of conditions e.g. artificial daylight increasing day time hours. Control of food, resulting in less wastage, if food not eaten it can be saved for next meal. Cheaper for farmers as less space is required to breed the animals e.g. chickens; also resulting in cheaper eggs for the consumer in comparison with free range.
The Disadvantages include; these include increased risk of disease, due to if one animal becomes infected there is a higher chance the others will too. This is because they are within a smaller living space in comparison with being outside. Furthermore the disease will spread rapidly, whereas outside it would have been a lot slower process due to bigger area. Meaning the infected could be removed from the group, allowing more time for the farmers to react. Another deprivation is the fact that there will be a lower quality of product, e.g. nutrition and taste. This is due to the animals not being able to free roam, eat desired crops and obtain natural sunlight. This in turn makes the chickens extremely stressed culminating in a worse taste for the consumer. Lastly this procedure raises ethical concerns and issues; people believe it is cruel to enclose animals within cages with barely enough space to move. They believe that this should not be happening and that the animal’s rights are being abused. An example group of this is called PETA – People for the ethical treatment of animals, they campaign to stop this and tackle the main issues.
Pesticides are used by farmers to remove any organisms/animals that feed on the crop. They’re also used to prevent rats and other animals from contaminating foods whilst they are being stored. Lastly to protect human’s health, they stop the crops from being contaminated by fungi. An example of this would be carrots; for the above reasons they are sprayed, applying pesticide spray prevents any energy being transferred from the crop to the consumer.
Pesticide sprays bring several advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include; the pesticides are widely available and economical to use. Moreover they are effective in killing pests, making them a reliable usage of source for farmers. Lastly its yield is high due to no insect infestation; more plants will be edible, because no insects will be destroying the crop.

The Disadvantages include; firstly the killing of pest, organisms, weeds and moulds in and around the area dramatically reduces the biodiversity of the habitat, unnecessary harm may occur to other non-target animals whom are not involved with the crop. Also pesticides are a poison that is able to kill humans, wildlife and the environment, if the instructions are not carefully followed. Furthermore when pesticides are used in large quantities they can become pollute the environment. They can poison and pollute land and water. Lastly some pesticides take a long time to break down, e.g. when a house is sprayed for termites; due to them not breaking down they become residual chemicals. Consequently becoming a huge hazard and remaining poisonous for long periods of time. The pesticide can then poison the local water supply and land.

Hydroponics is an extreme form of growing crops in glasshouses. The process is fairly complex; soil is replaced by a mineral solution pumped around the plant roots. By removing the soil, this result in no risk of soil organisms causing disease, however the plants have to be supported. When monitoring and adjusting the concentrations of minerals in the solution, this enables the farmer to control growth. An example of hydroponics is tomatoes, they are grown using hydroponics for easy and optimised conditions that this particular method supplies.
There are vast amounts of advantages of disadvantages. The advantages include; hydroponics allows crops to be grown in regions where there's no soil. Also there is no need for a lot of farming land as it allows crops to be produced in greenhouses, it is a stable method for reliable growth and ensures high yields for the farmer. By hardly any farming land being required, costs are relatively low on that front. Furthermore the desired nutrient for the environment can be easily provided for plant growth, meaning that the growth of rate is increased. There are lower water costs as water is reused in these systems; also less water is lost through evaporation and runoff. Lastly the crops are very easy to harvest, and pests and diseases are easier to get rid of.
The Disadvantages include; firstly the initial setup costs are high, as the equipment required for hydroponics is expensive. Moreover hydroponics know-how is required maintain the equipment. Farmers may have to pay someone to come in and fix the greenhouse if broken and maintain the process. In addition if a disease was to appear all plants in the container would be affected, also water borne diseases can quickly spread right through the hydroponic gardens, ruining the crops. Lastly if the hydroponic system fails it can leads to rapid plant death, due to soil not being present as a backup.
Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on organic materials instead of pesticides, to provide crops and food. Some of the techniques used are Manure which replaces fertilisers and develops soil structure. Weeding replaces herbicides, they are far more environmental and do not damage your health. Crop rotation replaces single crop, it reduces disease and damage to the soil’s composition.
There are numerous amounts of advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include; primarily a major benefit to consumers of organic food is that it is free of contamination with health harming chemicals such as pesticides, fungicides and herbicides not being present. This is due to alternative methods being in practise. Additionally organically grown plants are nourished naturally, aiding the structural and metabolic integrity, in comparison with crops that have been conventionally grown. As a result of this, organically grown foods can be stored longer; furthermore they do not fall subject to rapid mould.

Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_gateway_pre_2011/greenworld/farmingrev3.shtml http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming.aspx http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/guidance/industries/pesticides/topics/about-pesticides/what-are-pesticides http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/ohp-enhealth-manual-atsi-cnt-l~ohp-enhealth-manual-atsi-cnt-l-ch5~ohp-enhealth-manual-atsi-cnt-l-ch5.5 http://www.biology.lifeeasy.org/1213/what-are-advantages-and-disadvantages-hydroponics-farming http://www.small-farm-permaculture-and-sustainable-living.com/advantages_and_disadvantages_organic_farming.html