Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

204

Organic farming

Some farmers in Western

countries prefer to grow

crops and raise animals in

a natural, or organic, way.

They do not use artificial

pesticides or fertilizers.

Organic food is more

expensive, but it may be

healthier to eat.

SubSiSTence farming

in some developing countries,

most farming families grow only

sufficient food for themselves.

This is called subsistence

farming. in a good year it

provides enough food for all.

but a drought or an increase

in the population may lead

to famine and starvation.

crOpS

almost all

crops that

are grown

today are the

descendants

of wild plants.

However, special

breeding has created

varieties that give high

harvests. grain crops such as

wheat have especially benefited.

modern varieties have much

larger grains than traditional

species. However, this new

“superwheat” is not as resistant

to disease as other varieties and

must be grown carefully.

Organic farmers use natural

fertilizers, such as seaweed or

animal dung, to make the soil

more productive.

In intensive chicken houses, conveyor belts

carry food to the hens in the crowded

cages, and take away the eggs.

Ordinary wheat

A baler rolls up the straw—the cut stalks of wheat left after the grain has been

harvested—and ties it into tight round bundles called bales.

inTenSive farming

The purpose of intensive

farming is to increase the

production of crops and

animals, and to cut food

prices. food animals

such as chickens and

pigs are kept indoors in

tiny, overcrowded pens.

many people feel this is

unnatural and cruel, and

prefer to eat only “free-

range” animals—animals

that have been allowed to

move freely in the farmyard.

TO STOck THe fOOd SHeLveS of supermarkets in europe and

the americas, farmers make nature and technology work in

harmony. They use machinery to plow and reap great fields of

wheat; they fertilize and irrigate greenhouses full of vegetables

and orchards of fruit; and they rear animals indoors to fatten

them quickly. Through this intensive agriculture, Western

farmers feed up to 10 people from land that once fed one.

However, not all the world’s farmers can be so productive.

Those who have plots on hilly land cannot use machines. instead

they graze a few animals or cultivate the land with inefficient hand

tools. farmers in dry climates must be content with lower yields or

choose less productive crops that will tolerate dry soil.

and farmers who cannot afford

machines and fertilizers are forced

to use slower farming methods

that have not changed

for centuries.

Farming

farm macHinery

modern grain farming requires

special machinery at different

times of the year. in the

spring, a plow breaks the

soil into furrows for

planting. a seed drill

puts a measured

amount of seed into

the prepared soil

and covers the seed

so that birds do not

eat it. a sprayer

covers crops with

pesticides to kill

harmful diseases and

pests. finally, a combine

harvester cuts the crop

and prepares it for storage.

Planting

Harvesting seeds

Spraying

Plowing

Superwheat

Find out more

farm animals

farming, history of

US_204_Farming.indd 204 21/01/16 4:58 pm