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"Farming" redirects here. For other uses, see Farming (disambiguation).

Terra-culture

Terra-culture is the utilization of sustainable organic farming practices. These sustainable farming practices developed due to the Green Revolution and the industrialisation of agriculture. A key factor in understanding Terra-culture is the need to sustain and conserve the environment whilst simultaneously achieving high yield outputs.

'Organic Farming' and 'Agricultural Sustainability' is increasingly shaping the evolving Agricultural Industry.

Sustainable Agriculture, holistically seeks to protect and sustain farmers by encouraging farming practices and methods that fulfill three key factors. These being profitability, environmental sustainability and a good community. Sustainable Agriculture, at large aims to protect and promote the environmental viability of the land, whilst ensuring that profits continue to be generated.

The Industrialisation of Agriculture

Agriculture plays a crucial role in both Australia and the world today. The global world relies on agriculture for all social, economical and environmental endeavors. The importance of agriculture, in all that it contributes to society cannot be undermined. In ensuring agriculture continues to flourish as an industry, farmers of the land need to enact measures that seek to protect the environment. This process is broadly referred to as Terra-culture.

According to the National Farmers Federation, there are 85, 681 farms, of which 99% are Australian owned and operated. “Each farm, produces enough food to feed 600 people, whilst also accounting for 93% of Australia’s “domestic food supply.” Not only does the Agricultural Industry feed majority of Australia’s population, it also accounts for a huge percentage of employment within Australia, offering a remarkable 1.6 million jobs to individuals.

The Australian Agricultural Industry, contributes a total of 3% towards Gross Domestic Product (GDP), annually. However, a large proportion of the total production of agriculture that is produced in Australia is exported, totalling 77% of the gross value of approximately $60 billion. Australia’s reliance on its own economic agricultural growth is heightened, as ‘Australia’s farm exports earned the country $44.8 billion in 2016-17, having increased from $32.5 billion in 2010-11. Continued, growth in the agricultural sector has enabled farmers in Australia to remain internationally competitive.

Organic Farming Practices

Organic Farming, is understood through a variety of definitions. Mannion (1995) in 'Organic Farming and Sustainable Agriculture' refers to organic farming as “a holistic view of agriculture that aims to reflect the profound interrelationship that exists between farm biota, its production and the overall environment.”

Scofield, at large agrees with Mannion's definition of 'Organic Farming', but also (1986) emphasises that organic farming does not necessarily entail “the use of living materials, but emphasises the concept of wholeness”, the coming together of parts, to make a whole. Lastly, Lampkin adopts a modern definition of organic farming as “to create integrated, humane, environmentally and economically sustainable production systems… so as to provide acceptable levels of crop, livestock and human nutrition, protection from pests and disease and an appropriate return to the human…” Therefore, it can be argued that organic farming, is best enhanced through the regulation and encouragement of using inputs and tools that seek to protect the environment from any further degredation or damage caused by humans.

The Green Revolution

The Green Revolution was a term coined in 1968, by William Gaud, who acts as the administrator for the US Agency for International Development. At large, the term encompasses the development of higher yield outputs by crops that respond well to artificial fertilisers and irrigation systems. Two crops, that responded particuarly well to the Green Revolution, were Wheat and Rice.

For Rice, the Green Revolution began with the development of IRRI, (as discussed below), which saw the development of the High Yielding Variety (HYV) IR8. A period of 40 years, saw substantial and dramatic yield increases in rice. Indeed rice yields, around 1960, were at an average of 2t/ha. Over the 40 year period between 1960 and 2000, yields increased dramatically. As such, the rice varieties and technologies adopted during the Green Revolution, pushed yields up exponentially in some areas to between 6-10t/ha. Increases in yields was crucial in avoiding famine in both Asia and Africa stemming from population growth.

Social Impacts of the Green Revolution

Due to the continued growth within the Agricultural Market, it is argued that many individuals have come out of poverty due to the increasing incomes that have been welcomed within South-East Asia, and India. Real per-capita income, almost doubled between 1950 and 1975 within India. Indicative of this, poverty declined "from nearly three out of every five Asians in 1975 to less than one in three by 1995." A trend that is largely due to the growth in the Agricultural sector offering great opportunities for employment.

Shortfalls of the Green Revolution

A revolution that had such reverberating effects worldwide, was "bound to create some problems of its own." Resulting in degredation of the environment, increases of income inequality, inequitable asset distribution and the worsening of absolute poverty globally, the Green Revolution has continuously been criticised by farmers both affected and unaffected by revolution.

Whilst it is easy to articulate the problems and concerns that surrounded that Green Revolution, it is important to think about "what would have been the magnitude of hunger and poverty without the yield increases of the Green Revolution and with the same population growth."

One of the major concerns and shortfalls associated with the Green Revolution was that the benefits were remarkably better for large-scale farmers who could afford to adopt the newly introduced technologies as opposed to the benefit received by the smaller farmers who remained either 'unaffected' or 'harmed'. Most of the changes that occurred during the Green Revolution, caused 'lower product prices' as well as higher prices charged for the cost of inputs. As such, many smaller farmers could not afford the increased prices charged for inputs in the farming process, nor could they afford the demands that were being made of them as tenants through the costs of rent.

Another shortfall of the Green Revolution is the belief that it encouraged large-scale mechanisation, which in turn resulted in a decrease in the number of individuals employed in the agricultural industry. Once again, mechanisation and the process of mechanisation was an aspect of the Green Revolution that appealed primarily to the larger, wealthier farmers, who could afford to upgrade and adopt new technological innovations.

Lastly, the Green Revolution was criticized for the impact it primarily had in areas that were likely to receive greater rainfall, as well as having access to infrastructure, accommodating the process of irrigation. Those areas, that did not receive great amounts of rainfall, or who did not have access to irrigation infrastructure were unable to fully reap the benefits of the Green Revolution.

Environmental degredation as a result of the Green Revolution has been discussed through the "excessive and inappropriate use of fertilisers and pesticides" which may have "polluted waterways, poisoned agricultural workers (through their direct contact with the pesticides), as well as killing wildlife.

Whilst, in essence the Green Revolution was largely successful in accommodating the major population growth worldwide in ensuring these individuals had access to sufficient food, it is also evident that there were some shortfalls that had greatest impact on smaller farmers in areas that lacked developed farm infrastructure.

High Yielding Production Crops

The production of crop varieties that produced High Yields, was achieved particularly quickly, within the overall scheme of the Green Revolution. Indeed by 1970, approximately, "200% of the wheat area and 30% of the rice area in developing countries were planted to HYV's and by 1990's, the share of rice, planted as a High Yielding Varieties (HYV's), had increased to approximately 70%." The reverberating positive affect of producing HYV's, further meant that farmers were able to plant multiple crops, within the farming year, which in turn increased income levels for farmers. Further, the adoption of HYV's "led farmers to increase the area of rice and wheat they grew at the expense of other crops."

Whilst Asia, and Latin America, benefited greatly from the Green Revolution Sub Saharan Africa did not. The reasons Sub-Saharan Africa, did not benefit to the extent of Asia included "poor infrastructure, high transport costs, limited investment in irrigation, pricing and marketing policies that sought to penalise farmers and hinder any progress to agriculture as an industry. Developments of the Green Revolution and associated technologies were therefore not adopted.

Wheat

Wheat is a mono coty leaf, from the time of germination, the plant seeds a single shoot up and then continues to grow vertically with leaves continuing to push out from the centre of the plant. Wheat, grows as a crop right through to the point of harvest and gets direct headed by the combine header. As such, the header comes along, cuts the wheat heads off directly, thrashes the grain from the heads and the trash goes out the back of the header and the grain goes into the bin. The wheat growing period is from April until late November/early December.  

For wheat, you get paid on the weight of the grain, however you also get some bonuses on the protein levels in the grain. Higher protein wheat is worth more money. Once, harvest is completed, paddocks are maintained so that weeds do not grow as well as maintaining moisture in the paddocks. From January through to May is spent preparing the paddocks, keeping weeds out, maintain the stubble to reduce moisture loss and in April sowing begins again, and so the cycle commences.

The Green Revolution, with regards to Wheat, saw the introduction of phosphate used as an artificial fertiliser. The application of phosphate, saw wheat crop yields improve markedly. Typically, Australian soils are low in phosphate and as such the introduction of phosphate, helped improve the fertility of the soil.

Image of a Wheat crop, that is in the final stages of the growing period. Sourced from Wikimedia Commons. Photo by Alentejo.

Rice

Rice, is a crop that is grown almost worldwide with Antarctica being the only continent it is not grown in. Predominately, rice is grown in South-East Asia, Sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America. Asia accounts for 90% of rice production annually, producing approximately 640 million tonnes. Sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America account for a combined 26 million tonnes.

In Australia, and New South Wales more specifically, there are approximately 2000 family owned and operated farm businesses "growing rice in the Murrumbidgee valleys of NSW and the Murray Valleys of Victoria."

Rice is a crop that relies heavily on water for growth. Without rain and with no irrigation, rice cannot be grown. Although rice is so reliant on water, Australia's management and use of water for purposes of irrigation is very efficient. Indeed "The Australian rice industry leads the world in water use efficiency," using 50% less water, than the Global Average.

Rice Yields, according to 'Ricepedia, The Online Authority on Rice', are greatest when rice is grown in "high latitude areas' that have long days and where intensive farming is practiced, or in low latitude desert like areas, that have high solar energy."

More than any other cereal based grain, rice dominates production and consumption (measured via the share of all crop area harvested and measured by the share of rice in total caloric intake). Africa, relies heavily on both the production and consumption of rice. This is due largely to the ease and convenience with which rice can be imported from Asia, as well as the ease with which rice can be prepared in urban Africa

Cultivated Species of Rice (Japonica, Javanica and Indica)

The three main species of rice include; Japonica, Javanica (which is a sub-species of Japonica) and Indica. Javanica, was once believed to be a third species, however it is a tropical sub-species of Japonica.

Japonica

• Commonly grown in Northern and Eastern China
• Grown in the cooler zones of the sub-tropics, and more temperate zones
• Shorter plant, with round grains.
• When cooked, Japonica rice is more moist and sticky.

Indica

• Indica rice plants are commonly grown in the tropics and sub-tropics
• Rice plants commonly found in the Phillippines, India, Indonesia, and Southern and Central China
• Indica, plants are a more long and lean plant, and have the ability to shatter more than Japonica plants, which do not easily shatter
• Unlike, Japonia, Indica, rice grains when cooked are more dry.

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

IRRI, which is located near Manila in the Phillippines, opened in 1962, amid fears of rapid Asian population growth exceeding food production, resulting in widespread famine.

IRRI genetically engineered rice to adapt to a variety of biophysical environments, resulting in a shorter growing period and higher yields. IRRI's new dwarf varieties doubled production from 1967 to 1992.

Two of the Genetically Modified rice varities that IRRI developed were LLRice60 and LLRice62, both approved in the United States in 2000. Subsequent approval of these and other types of herbicide-resistant GM rice occurred across many other countries including Australia, however all varieties are yet to be approved with regards to commercialisation.

Image of a Rice crop, during the growth period. Sourced from Wikimedia Commons. Photo by Esmail Golshan Mojdehi.

See also

Main article: Agriculture

• History of Agriculture
• Organic Farming
• Agricultural Cropping
• The Green Revolution
• Education and Agriculture