GCSE Agriculture and Land Use Animal Nutrition Food production and Processing For first teaching from September 2013 For first award in Summer 2015 Animal Nutrition Extensive beefcattle system basedonpasture Food andProcessing production Intensive beefcattle system based onmeals • • Monogastric Digestive TractMonogastric including organic methods of intensive systems, andextensive farming Assess the advantages anddisadvantages extensive farming. Explain thedifferences between intensive and Learning Outcomes iStockphoto / Thinkstock.com iStockphoto / Thinkstock.com iStockphoto and visual pollution. Extensive farming returnsand visualpollution. Extensive farming mostofthe increased ofslurry, production manure, aswell asair, water population. Onedisadvantage ofintensive isthe farming land at alower unitprice for anever increasing world produce vast amounts offood onthesameamount of The mainadvantage ofintensive to isitsability farming Intensive farmingadvantages anddisadvantages managed to alsomeetorganic farmingstandards. farms,Extensive for cereal example, anddairy are often ofwinter whenoutdoor conditions arethe part too harsh. lambingseasonandcalvingorduring meals during outdoors onpasture andonlybrought indoorsandfed willhaveSheep andbeeffarms theanimals grazing withmuchlower ratesfarms stocking farm perhectare. around at will. Extensive systems occur often inupland Animals are free to graze outdoors andare ableto move outdoors, for eggproduction. examplewithfree-range Extensive farmingsystems are managed typically lib water units. andirrigation/misting drinkers lines, programmed mealhoppers, count, ad milkbacterial automatic andsemiautomatic systems suchasliquidfeed fed,fertilised, watered, cleaned anddiseasecontrolled by atmosphere greenhouses. The animalsandcrops are often units, hydroponic tomato incontrolled production farrowingcage eggproduction, crates insow breeding of suchsystems include beef’‘barley cattle units, ‘battery’ breeding ,behaviour anddiseasemanagement. Examples entire lifetime. This precise permits control oftheirdiet, in specialisedbuildingsandcanremain indoorsfor their beef, produce, andcereals. dairy poultry Animalsare kept methods are usedto of maximiseyieldsandproduction Intensive called farmingisoften farming’.‘factory Intensive prepared for sale. systems by whichanimalsandcrops are grown and The terms intensive refer andextensive farming to the Information Organic methods ratesStocking Extensive farming Intensive farming Key Terms 2 Animal Nutrition wild speciese.g. forestery andmeadows. of landfor othermanagedhabitats to encourage particular The greater requirement for landarea theuse canrestrict have alarger footprint carbon thanintensive farming. cost andcaneven sometimesdueto itslow productivity ratiohectare andtherefore thefood produced isofahigher intensive systems farming sothere isamuchlower yieldto Yields ofcrops andlivestock are muchlower thanin Extensive farmingdisadvantages chemicals. minimal useofartificial environment andsoil, dueto overall lower rate stocking and water andenergy. There willalsobelessdamageto the lower requirements for fertilisers, medicines, pesticides, naturally. For many crop andanimalunitstheyhave much not keptindoorsconstantly andsoare allowed to behave welfare isperceived to bebetter since theanimalsare situations. onharshhillfarm such assheepfarming Animal are that are selected sensitive to thenatural environment A significantly lower labourinputis required andsystems Extensive farmingadvantages lamenessandaggressivediscomfort, behaviour. animals are spaces keptinrestricted leadto thiscanoften socially, ordisplaying maternal Furthermore instincts. when to behave naturally by roaming andgrazing, grouping relates to thewelfare animals-theyare ofthefarm unable units whichproduce green energy. Anotherdisadvantage to produce energy, for exampleinanaerobic digestion isstored safelyNonetheless ifcattle slurry itcanbeused andmanure, whichcancreateslurry disposaldifficulties. However intensive livestock requires farming storage of environment whichismuchmore environmentally friendly. and allows agradual release ofnutrients backinto the animal manure directly, whichsustainsthegrass production iStockphoto / Thinkstock.com iStockphoto • • • • Disadvantages • • • • Disadvantages oforganic systems • • • Advantages oforganic systems withsometimesadverse andherbicides effects fertilisers rather than ‘forcing thesystem’ inputssuchas withextra people. The systems are adapted to thelocalconditions, istoprinciple maintain thehealth ofsoils, ecosystems and organic Association. bodiessuchastheSoil The underlying arefarms closelyregulated andpoliced by thevarious food additives andgeneticallymodifiedorganisms. Organic growth regulators suchashormones, livestock antibiotics, andfungicides),include herbicides, plant insecticides (synthetic)manufactured fertilisers, pesticides(which limitstheuseof and pesticidesbutexcludes orstrictly and biological pestcontrol. Organic usesfertilisers farming techniques suchascrop rotation, green manure, compost as organic. Organic systems farming are basedaround More forms extreme ofextensive systems are described Organic farmingmethods Organic Farming and themineral content cannotbe aseasilycontrolled. The useofmanure isdifficult instead toapply offertiliser crop rotation reduces thearea available for growing of crops ifpart The useofnitrogen fixingplants instead of fertilisers Less dueto crop productivity rotation as theyieldislower thanintensively produced food Food produced organically tends to bemore expensive More expensive prices may discourage consumers to buy Time required to convert landto anorganic system Lower yields Requires greater area ofland Healthier food production theenvironmentBenefits andbiodiversity Produce more worth iStockphoto / Thinkstock.com iStockphoto 3 Animal Nutrition pre_2011/greenworls/farminggrev3.shtml www.bbc.c.uk/schools/bbcbitesize/science/add_gateway_ http://www.soilassociation.org/whatisorganic - farming-types www.s-cool.co.uk/gcse/geography/agriculture/revise-it/ 3. 2. 1. extensive farm e.g.extensive farm outdoor sheepfarming. Visit anintensive e.g. farm andan indoorpigproduction, production. e.g. type disadvantages farm ofoneselected pig Create aposter illustrating theadvantages and respectively. couldeach farm bemademore intensive orextensive class,In doaresearch exercise to investigate how Learning Activities Web Resources/Links