Australian Farms

Author: Michael

There are nearly 136,000 Australian farms producing a wide variety of grains, vegetables and meats. 


Australia is among the world's largest and most successful and efficient producers of cattle and sheep and a leader in the export of red meat and livestock. The total value of the Australian beef and sheepmeat industry is A$16.1 billion and the industry employs 172,000 people, making it an important part of the Australian economy, as well as an important part Australia's cultural identity. 


Australian organic farming


Australia has one of the largest areas of certified organic land in the world.  This is helped largely by the extensive agricultural land in Australia, much of which is suitable for low-input farming and organic farming.  Churinga Station is one of the largest certified organic lamb properties in the world.  The station is located 130 kilometres from Broken Hill, near Wilcannia.  Churinga Hill produces sought after organic lamb that is sold into top restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne, to Woolworths for their macro brand and specialty butchers as well as to overseas markets.  Properties like Churinga are well suited to organic production due to the perennial native pastures and vegetation.


Australian organic farming is expected to grow 14% in 2011 and is the fastest growing production industry in the country. 


Australian farm machinery


Whilst organic farms practice low input farming methods, farm sites in more arable areas of the country such as central NSW around Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst use some herbicides, pesticides and Australian farm machinery.  In addition to Australian farm machinery, farm tractors such as those imported from John Deere farm in the United States are used to assist with Australian farm work. 


Farm tractors like the John Deere one are used to sow grain and grasses using a low-till or zero-till method of production.  This means that rather than turning over the topsoil to plant seeds and grasses that the John Deere machine slightly slits the topsoil and inserts the seed.  This has advantages including reducing loss of topsoil and maintaining the carbon that is stored in the soil.  This has benefits both for maintaining biodiversity by having healthy soils and by mitigating climate change by enabling carbon to be absorbed more effectively by soils. 


Australian farm house


Most Australian farmers live on the property that they make their living off.  Often several generations of farmers will live on the one property in a number of Australian farm houses.  Australian farm houses come in all shapes and sizes, as they do in cities, from huge country estates to rustic cottages.  The advantage of living on the Australian farm in an Australian farm house is that you are close to your place of work.  Often though Australian farms are a long distance from towns, so living on the property can be quite isolating.  A strong sense of community exists in farming communities though, so even people that are thousands of kilometres from major towns they generally have close relationships with their neighbours.


Australian farm work


Living at work as is the case for many farmers often means that it's hard to leave the farm work behind at the end of each day and on the weekends.  Livestock farmers work incredibly long and tiring days, tending to their animals, mending fences, buying new animals, looking after the grasses and soils and managing the business.  Australian farm sites often also make great holiday locations, so some farmers choose to run Australian farm tourism on their Australian sites for an extra income stream.  Often there are a number of houses on an Australian farm site, so one may be used for farm stays for city people or overseas holiday makers.
Coutesy: Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/australian-farms-4589269.html

Organic Farming vs Conventional Farming

Author: Helen Disler

Organic farming has become one of the most favoured options for the production of safe, highly nutritious food and long-term sustainability. The market for the produce from organic farms is growing, especially as consumers have become more aware of food-safety issues, environmental preservation and wildlife protection.
Organic farming is practiced in over 100 countries worldwide, and, as of 2007, there were over 26 million hectares managed under organic farming techniques. Of this total, Australia had the biggest share (43.3%) with its 11.3 million hectares; Argentina was a distant second with 2.8 million hectares.
From its inception, the position of organic farming has been against large-scale, chemical-farming agriculture. The debate between organic farming and chemical farming is far from settled. Some of the points involved are described below.
Natural controls of insect pests and diseases
An organic-farming system does not use synthetic chemicals, including inorganic fertilisers, insecticides, fungicides and herbicides. To keep pests at acceptable levels, natural pesticides may be used. Chemical-farming advocates say natural pesticides are crude and are actually improved upon by synthetic pesticides, and that the distinction between the two is arbitrary. Organic-farming advocates point out that pest control in organic farms is achieved by encouraging the presence of predators and natural enemies of pests, following crop rotation, using cover crops, and growing healthier plants; natural pesticides (such as soybean oil, rotenone and pyrethrum) are only used as the last resort.
Research from the early 1990s has shown that organic farms have lower populations of insect pests than conventional farms or that there is little difference between them. A comprehensive analysis by Letourneau and Goldstein (2001) who studied organic and conventional tomato farms in California showed that there was no difference in the abundance of plant-eating animals (herbivores) but the organic farms had higher abundance and a wider variety of natural enemies to pests that affected the crops, which led to better pest control.
Soil ecology
Proponents have always asserted that the organic system maintains high levels of biological activity and fresh organic matter in humus, thus promoting soil health. Numerous studies investigating various aspects of soil ecology, including the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil, and its ecological processes such as nutrient cycling, in organic and conventional farming systems have confirmed the claims of organic farming advocates.
Some of the most significant studies involved the organic and conventional farming trials in Switzerland (called DOK trials), which covered a 21-year period. One study by Siegrist et al. (1998) found that organic plots had significantly greater earthworm biomass, soil aggregate stability, and population diversity than conventional plots. Another study by Mäder et al. (2000) showed colonization of beneficial fungi was 30-60% higher among plants growing in organic farming systems, which implied that organic systems had a greater capacity to achieve plant-fungi symbiosis.
Nutrient loss
Many studies have shown that nitrates leach out at slower rates in organic farms than conventional farms. For example, Eltun et al. (1995) found that nitrate runoff in conventional cash crop systems in Norway was at least two times higher than in organic cash crop systems. Among farms producing forage crops, loss of nitrates in organic systems was 36% less than that in conventional systems.
Soil productivity
The basic criticism against organic farms is that yields are lower than conventional farms. The Swiss DOK trials found that the organic systems had 20% lower yields than the conventional systems, but it was also noted that fertilizer consumption in organic systems was 50% lower. Organic farming advocates point to the economic costs of conventional farming systems such as the cost of environmental clean-up and the depletion of non-renewable energy resources; in contrast, organic systems avoid these hidden costs.
Another factor that contributes to lower yields in organic farms is the presence of weeds. Several researchers have found higher weed densities and weed biomass in organic farms compared with conventional farms. On the other hand, researchers have also reported the presence of rare and endangered weed species on mature, decades-old organic farms, which may indicate a contribution to encouraging plant biodiversity. It may not favour short-term economics but it does support long-term ecological concerns.
Keywords: soil ecology, organic farming, sustainable farming, conventional farming, soil health, most profitable form of farming.
Summary:
Organic farming has become one of the most favoured options for the production of safe, highly nutritious food and long-term sustainability. The market for the produce from organic farms is growing, especially as consumers have become more aware of food-safety issues, environmental preservation and wildlife protection.