Agriculture can take several forms including commercial farming which aims to make a profit, sedentary farming where people permanently settle to farm the land, and shifting farming where farmers move areas. Arable farming involves growing crops while pastoral farming focuses on rearing animals. Political factors also influence farming through policies like set-aside which pays farmers not to use some lands, production quotas from the EU, and subsidies to support farmers.

1. Agriculture

2. Agriculture key words Commercial - The growing of crops/ rearing of animals to make profit. Shifting - Where farmers move from one area to another. Sedentary - Where farming and settlement is permanent. Extensive - Where farming size is large in comparison to the amount of people working there. Intensive - Where farm size is small in comparison with the number of people working there. Pastoral farming - Involves the rearing of animals. Subsistence farming - Where there is just enough food for the farmers to provide for their family. Arable Farming - Involves the growing of crops. Mixed Farming – involves growing crops and livestock.

3. Arable farming Irrigation - Artificial watering of land. Diversification - When farmers undertake activities other than farming. Intensification - Adding chemicals to crops to make more and the perfect crop, this can also be done by using machines to plant seeds in neat rows to get more crops in an area of land. Eutrophication - excessive nutrients in a lake or river caused by runoff of nutrients (animal waste, fertilizers, sewage) from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life; the decomposition of the plants depletes the supply of oxygen, leading to the death of animal life e.g. fish. Monoculture - Soil is not given enough time to recover when being used intensively.

4. Arable farming. Continued Monoculture - Soil is not given enough time to recover when being used intensively. Overgrazing - When lots of animals are grazed in a small area, the vegetation is removed quicker than its grown and worn away by the wind and rain. Contour ploughing - Ploughing across hillsides, reducing run off and erosion. Shelter belts - Planting trees to hold water and soil, it also reduces wind protecting the soil. Strip farming - Different crops are planted and harvested at different times, this means the amount of unused soil is decreased. Organic farming - Farming without the use of artificial chemicals, fertilisers or pesticides. Countryside stewardship scheme - Encourages farmers to look after the countryside they own.

5. Pastoral Farming Dairy farming – the farming of cows, used to produce dairy products such as milk cheese etc. Homogenising – A process which breaks down the fat in milk. Hill sheep farming – The farming of sheep, used for lamb wool and mutton. Fell – Hills over 300 meters altitude. The Intake – Split into 4 fields in the middle of the hill. Inbye – Small areas of the land closest to the farm.

6. Political Farming Set-aside -farmers paid to leave some of their land alone and not grow crops. Quotas – are limits set by the EU for farmers on how much of a product can be produced, if farmers exceed the limit then they are fined. Subsidies – farmers are given by the state to allow them to carry on farming without going into debt. Common Agricultural Policy – aims to make agricultural production more efficient and to make it so there is not too much food being produced and therefore wasted.