Modern farming techniques and efficiency
Ecology • Food production (biology only)
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Key concepts
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Definition: intensive farming and monoculture
Intensive farming uses machines, chemicals and housing to maximise yield from crops or livestock. Intensive animal farming keeps larger numbers of animals in smaller spaces and often limits movement to reduce energy loss, increasing the proportion of food energy converted to biomass . Monoculture means growing the same crop on the same land repeatedly. Monoculture increases harvesting efficiency and allows mechanisation but causes soil nutrient depletion and increases pest build-up because of the continuous availability of a single host species .
Energy flow and efficiency in food production
Producers (plants and algae) capture only a small fraction of the Sun’s energy, typically around 1%, which limits the available energy for higher trophic levels . At each trophic transfer roughly 10% of biomass (and thus energy) becomes consumer tissue; the remainder is lost as faeces, urine and by respiration (heat) . Energy losses by respiration increase when animals move more, when internal temperatures require more metabolic heat production, or when animals fight disease. Reducing those losses increases the proportion of energy converted into edible biomass.
Techniques that restrict energy transfer from animals
Restricting movement by housing animals in smaller pens reduces activity-related respiration and so reduces energy loss, increasing growth for the same feed input . High-protein diets and close control of feeding increase the fraction of dietary energy turned into tissue rather than being lost as waste. Temperature control in housing reduces energy spent maintaining body temperature. Intensive fish farms feed high-protein diets to stock in cages to maximise growth rate and feed conversion efficiency .
Selective breeding, biotechnology and veterinary care
Selective breeding chooses animals with high growth rates and improved feed conversion ratio, so less resource input produces more biomass. Biotechnology and controlled fermentation produce alternative protein sources (for example mycoprotein), reducing pressure on livestock production. Regular veterinary care and use of medicines reduces illness-related energy loss and mortality, increasing overall yield, but antibiotic use has a risk of promoting resistant bacteria and presents an ecological trade-off .
Environmental and ethical limiting factors
Removal of hedgerows and intensive monoculture increase the scale at which machines operate but reduce biodiversity and habitat connectivity, harming ecosystems . Soil nutrient depletion limits long-term yields unless fertilisers are used; fertiliser use increases yields but can cause runoff and pollution. Ethical concerns arise from housing conditions in factory farming and from genetic modification debates, which influence public acceptance and regulation .
Key notes
Important points to keep in mind