science

Integrated farming

Integrated farming is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Integrated farming rather than just read about it. In short: Integrated farming (IF), integrated production, or integrated farm management is a whole farm management system which aims to deliver more sustainable agriculture without compromising the quality or quantity of agricultural products. Integrated farming combines modern tools and technologies with traditional practices according to a given site and situation, often employing many different cultivation techniques in a…

Key takeaways

Integrated farming belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Integrated farming to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Integrated farming from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Integrated farming (IF), integrated production, or integrated farm management is a whole farm management system which aims to deliver more sustainable agriculture without compromising the quality or quantity of agricultural products. Integrated farming combines modern tools and technologies with traditional practices according to a given site and situation, often employing many different cultivation techniques in a small growing area.

Definition

The International Organization of Biological Control (IOBC) describes integrated farming according to the UNI 11233-2009 European standard as a farming system where high-quality organic food, animal feed, fiber, and renewable energy are produced by using resources such as soil, water, air, and nature as well as regulating factors to farm sustainably and with as few polluting inputs as possible. Particular emphasis is placed on an integrated organic approach which views the farm and its environmental surroundings as an intricately cross-linked whole, on the fundamental role and function of agro-ecosystems, on nutrient cycles, which are balanced and adapted to the demands of specific crops, and on the health and welfare of livestock residing on the farm. Preserving and enhancing soil fertility, maintaining and improving biodiversity, and adhering to ethical and social criteria are indispensable basic elements. Crop protection takes into account all biological, technical, and chemical methods, which then are balanced carefully with objectives to protect the environment, to maintain economic profitability, and to fulfill social or cultural requirements. The European Initiative for Sustainable Development in Agriculture (EISA) has an Integrated Farming Framework, which provides additional explanations on key aspects of integrated farming. These include: Organization & Planning, Human & Social Capital, Energy Efficiency, Water Use & Protection, Climate Change & Air Quality, Soil Management, Crop Nutrition, Crop Health & Protection, Animal Husbandry, Health & Welfare, Landscape & Nature Conservation, and Waste Management Pollution Control. In the UK, LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) promotes a comparable model and defines Integrated Farm Management (IFM) as a whole-farm business approach that delivers more sustainable farming. LEAF's Integrated Farm Management consists of nine interrelated sections: Organization & Planning, Soil Management & Fertility, Crop Health & Protection, Pollution Control & By-Product Management, Animal Husbandry, Energy Efficiency, Water Management, and Landscape & Nature Conservation.

Classification

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) promotes Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as the preferred approach to crop protection and regards it as a pillar of both sustainable intensification of crop production and pesticide risk reduction. IPM, thus, is an indispensable element of Integrated Crop Management, which in turn is an essential part of the holistic integrated farming approach towards sustainable agriculture. In France, the Forum des Agriculteurs Responsables Respectueux de l'Environnement (FARRE) defines a set of common principles and practices to help farmers achieve these goals. These principles include:

Producing sufficient high quality food, fibre, and industrial raw materials Meeting the demands of society Maintaining a viable farming business Caring for the environment Sustaining natural resources The practices include:

Organization and management Monitoring and auditing Crop protection Animal husbandry Soil and water management Crop nutrition Energy management Waste management and pollution prevention Wildlife and landscape management Crop rotation and variety choice Keller, 1986 (quoted in Lütke Entrup et al., 1998 1) highlights that integrated crop management is not to be understood as a compromise between different agricultural production systems. Rather, it must be understood as a production system with targeted, dynamic, and continuous use and development of methods based on knowledge obtained from experiences in so-called conventional farming. In addition to natural scientific findings, impulses from organic farming are also taken up.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Integrated farming

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Integrated farming claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Integrated farming before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Integrated farming ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Integrated farming

In research: Integrated farming appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Integrated farming in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Integrated farming is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Sustainable agriculture, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Integrated farming outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Integrated farming in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Integrated farming means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Integrated farming out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Integrated farming in simple terms?

Why does Integrated farming matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Integrated farming?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Integrated farming.