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Intensive farming
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{{short description|Branch of agriculture}} [[File:Wheat fields at Nöbbelöv, Lund - panoramio (1).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Intensive farming of [[wheat]] in [[Lund]], Sweden]] {{Farming}} '''Intensive agriculture''', also known as '''intensive farming''' (as opposed to [[extensive farming]]), '''conventional''', or '''[[industrial agriculture]]''', is a type of [[agriculture]], both of [[arable farming|crop plants]] and of [[Animal husbandry|animals]], with higher levels of input and output per unit of [[agricultural land]] area. It is characterized by a low [[:wikt:fallow|fallow]] ratio, higher use of inputs such as [[Capital (economics)|capital]], [[Labour (economics)|labour]], [[agrochemical]]s and water, and higher [[crop yield]]s per unit land area.<ref name="britannicaRef">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/intensive-agriculture|title='s definition of Intensive Agriculture|author=Encyclopædia Britannica, revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen|website=Britannica |access-date=2019-09-21|archive-date=2008-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624184604/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9042533/intensive-agriculture|url-status=live}}</ref> Most [[commerce|commercial]] agriculture is intensive in one or more ways. Forms that rely heavily on [[industrial engineering|industrial methods]] are often called [[industrial agriculture]], which is characterized by technologies designed to increase yield. Techniques include planting multiple crops per year, reducing the frequency of fallow years, improving [[cultivar]]s, [[mechanised agriculture]], controlled by increased and more detailed analysis of growing conditions, including weather, [[soil]], water, weeds, and pests. Modern methods frequently involve increased use of non-biotic inputs, such as [[fertilizer]]s, plant growth regulators, [[pesticide]]s, and [[antibiotic]]s for livestock. Intensive farms are widespread in [[developed nation]]s and increasingly prevalent worldwide. Most of the meat, [[dairy product]]s, [[Egg (food)|eggs]], fruits, and vegetables available in [[supermarket]]s are produced by such farms. Some intensive farms can use [[Sustainable agriculture|sustainable methods]], although this typically necessitates higher inputs of labor or lower yields.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Lichtfouse |editor1-first=Eric |editor2-last=Navarrete |editor2-first=Mireille |editor3-last=Debaeke |editor3-first=Philippe |editor4-last=Souchère |editor4-first=Véronique |editor5-last=Alberola |editor5-first=Caroline |date=2009 |title=Sustainable Agriculture |url=https://download.e-bookshelf.de/download/0000/0727/41/L-G-0000072741-0002355301.pdf |location=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer |page=5 |isbn=978-90-481-2665-1 |doi=10.1007/978-90-481-2666-8 |access-date=2019-09-21 |archive-date=2019-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921114127/https://download.e-bookshelf.de/download/0000/0727/41/L-G-0000072741-0002355301.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Sustainably increasing [[agricultural productivity]], especially on [[smallholding]]s, is an important way to decrease the amount of land needed for farming and slow and reverse [[environmental degradation]] caused by processes such as [[deforestation]].<ref name=":03">{{Cite web|date=2020-02-06|title=Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders|url=https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/sustainable-intensification-for-smallholders|access-date=2020-10-16|website=Project Drawdown|language=en|archive-date=2021-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117190715/https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/sustainable-intensification-for-smallholders|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Intensive animal farming]] involves large numbers of animals raised on a relatively small area of land, for example by [[rotational grazing]],<ref name=PastProfit>{{cite report |author1=Undersander, Dan |author2=Albert, Beth |author3=Cosgrove, Dennis |author4=Johnson, Dennis |author5=Peterson, Paul |date=2002 |title=Pastures for profit: A guide to rotational grazing |url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1097378.pdf |publisher=Cooperative Extension Publishing, University of Wisconsin |page=4 |docket=A3529 |access-date=21 September 2019 |quote=rotational grazing involves a higher level of management with greater paddock numbers, shorter grazing periods, and longer rest periods. |archive-date=31 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831193023/https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1097378.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=Manitoba>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/production/forages/getting-started-with-intensive-grazing.html |title=Getting Started with Intensive Grazing |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Manitoba Agriculture |publisher=Manitoba Government |access-date=21 September 2019 |quote=There are many reasons why producers move to intensive grazing systems. These include... |archive-date=21 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921094200/https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/production/forages/getting-started-with-intensive-grazing.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> or sometimes as [[concentrated animal feeding operation]]s. These methods increase the yields of food and fiber per unit land area compared to those of extensive [[animal husbandry]]; concentrated feed is brought to seldom-moved animals, or, with rotational grazing, the animals are repeatedly moved to fresh forage.<ref name=PastProfit/><ref name=Manitoba/> {{Toclimit|3}}
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