Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 112.196.5.76 (talk) at 06:30, 27 December 2019 (my rules). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

By the 20th century however, there was a shift in importance from sheep to cattle. Trends in livestock units show that goats were just under 4% of cattle livestock units in the 1930s but had decreased to just over 0.5% by 1980. Today in Ireland, farm sizes have increased, the number of full-time farmers have decreased and heavier continental breeds have become more popular in comparison to the past.

New Zealand

New Zealand's pastoral sector is made up of cattle, deer and sheep. In the 1920s, meat, butter, cheese and wool, accounted for over 90% of the country's exports. The trend of high pastoral farming has continued to present day. The modernization of arable farming and horticulture have been met with equal advances in pastoral farming.

While sheep and beef farming use most of the land in New Zealand, the dairy industry is increasing in importance. The dairy sector began in 1814 when two cows and a bull were imported to New Zealand and the industry has been strong ever since. The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (published Dec 2010) estimates the industry contributes around 2.8% to New Zealand's GDP and 10.4 billion of export earnings. Dairy production has risen 77 percent over the past 20 years - from three million dairy cattle in 1989 to six million dairy cattle in 2009.

Categories

Intensive farming

Intensive farms generally take up a fairly small area of land, but aim to have a very high output, through massive inputs of capital and labour. These farms use machines and new technologies to become as efficient and cost-effective as possible, an example being the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation.

Intensive agriculture can be seen in many places around the world, such as the Canterbury Plains of New Zealand, pig farming in Denmark and rice cultivation in the countries of South East Asia. All use technology appropriate to their country to enable them to get the highest yields from their land. It is labour-intensive, capital intensive and machine intensive.

Extensive farming

Extensive farming is the direct opposite of intensive farming. The farms are large in comparison to the money injected into them or the labour used. The cattle ranches of central Australia are a good example of extensive agriculture, where often only a few farm workers are responsible for thousands of acres of farmland.

Another example of extensive farming can be seen in the massive cattle ranches of Brazil. These involve clearing vast areas of rainforest (the trees are often burnt rather than chopped down and sold) to make way for the cattle ranch. The cattle quickly eat the remaining vegetation and begin to cause massive problems of soil erosion. Extensive farming is also the production of livestock and crops on large piece of land having small output in return. Less attention is given here as compared to intensive farming.

Constraints

Livestock farming faces many potential problems and constraints. First, there are often exportation problems. With a high volume of trade there is also a high risk of spreading diseases from country to country. Britain saw the damage communicable animal diseases could cause in the 1980s and 1990s with the outbreak of mad cow disease. In this instance, the disease was able to infect humans as well. In pastoral farming the health of the animals is a high priority.

For low-income developing countries, heavily investing in pastoral farming is risky because expected returns can decrease significantly due to unforeseeable events such as climate change or natural disasters. If the country did experience an unfortunate event, there would be no other major industry to stabilize the economy or other goods to use as alternatives. This is exemplified by the drought that Australia experienced in the 1860s which severely limited livestock forage.

Environmental degradation is another concern for livestock farmers. Environmental degradation often occurs when the resources are over-used. One major aspect of this degradation is the depletion of fresh water. Fresh water is needed by livestock to keep the animals in good health. Also, lack of water can reduce the soil moisture necessary for forage production.

See also

• Holistic management
• Pastoral farming in the United Kingdom
• Rangeland management

References

1. Bohnsack U. & Carrucan P. 1999. An assessment of farming prescriptions under the Rural Environment Protection Scheme in the uplands of the Burren karstic region, Co. Clare. The Heritage Council, Kilkenny.
2. Ross Galbreath (1998). DSIR: Making Science Work for New Zealand : Themes from the History of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1926-1992. Victoria University Press. p. 58.
3. "Agriculture- Pastoral" Archived 2014-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, Ministry for Primary Industries, October 2013
4. "Protecting animal health and preventing disease, including trade", Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, March 2014
5. "Controlling animal disease", Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, March 2014
6. Mahmud & Randy, "Risk aversion in low income countries", International Food Policy Research Institute, 2007
7. Ragab, Ragab, and Christel Prudhomme. “Soil and Water: Climate Change and Water Resources Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions: Prospective Challenges for the 21st Century.” Biosystems Engineering 81.1 (2002): p 3-34..

• Agriculture by type