Farming:

Farming (Agriculture) is probably the most important of all industries. It is the Primary Industry that provides our food and as agriculture has become more effective, so the way we live has changed. Today we buy our food from shops and have many different jobs. In the past, people survived from hunting animals and collecting berries. We then learnt to farm and from that moment on, the countryside, as well as our lives, began to change.

Farming in Switzerland:

What problems do you think Swiss farmers in the Alps

Task 1:

Before we look at farming in Switzerland, lets revise a bit of Swiss geography.

Label the Cantons of Switzerland on the map. Once you have done this, use the map below to shade in the alpine regions of Switzerland.

Map 1: Agricultural Land in Switzerland

Task 2:

Look at the map 1 above. It shows where farming takes place in Switzerland. The darker green areas show the areas with the most farmland.

1) Describe where the areas with the most farmland are?

2) Which areas have no farmland?

3) Why do you think some areas have lots of farmland and others have none at all?

Machinery is very important to farmers

Types of Farming:

Farming

Farms can be categorised according to what is being grown or reared, the size of the operation and the agricultural techniques being used.
Farming can be:

sedentary or nomadic
subsistence or commercial
arable, pastoral or mixed
extensive or intensive

Sedentary or nomadic?

Sedentary farming is when a farm is based in the same location all the time.
Nomadic farming is when a farmer moves from one place to another. This is common in some LEDCs.

Subsistence or commercial?

Subsistence farming is when crops and animals are produced by a farmer to feed their family, rather than to sell.
Commercial farming (Agribusiness) is when crops and animals are produced to sell at market for a profit.

Arable, pastoral or mixed?

Arable farms grow crops. Crops are plants that are harvested from the ground to be eaten or sold.
Pastoral farms rear animals – either for animal by-products such as milk, eggs or wool, or for meat.
Mixed farms grow crops and rear animals.

Extensive or intensive?

Extensive farming is where a relatively small amount of produce is generated from a large area of farmland.
Intensive farming is where a large amount of produce is generated from a relatively small area of land. Inputs will be high to achieve a high yield per hectare. Inputs could be either fertilisers, machines or labour.

information from BBC Bitesize

Farming and Climate:

4) Farming and Climate: An exercise from Geographyalltheway.com

Map 2:The Different Landscape Zones in Switzerland

Task 3:

Look at map 2 above. It shows the different agricultural zones in Switzerland.

1) What zone is shown in green on the map?

2) Do you think that this zone is good for farming? Why?

3) Where is most of the grey, unproductive land found?

4) Why do you think this area is described as unproductive?

Map 3: Agricultural land use in Switzerland

Task 4:

Look carefully at map 3 above and answer the questions below.

1) What are the four types of farming shown in map 3?

2) Of the four types of farming, which require flat land and which can be done on steeper slopes? Why do you think this is?

3) Much of the land coloured purple on the map is used for growing grapes. What do you think the grapes are used for?

4) Grapes are often grown on south facing hill sides. Why do you think this is?

Sainte Saphorin, a vineyard on the shore of Lake Geneva.

Task 5:

Look again at the three maps and the answers you have given in tasks 1-3. Write a paragraph the describes the link between Agriculture, Relief (the shape of the land) and the climate of an area.

Extension:

Go to this page from Geographyallthewaycom and complete the map exercise.

How Farming Changes the Landscape:

This video looks at how the earliest farmers began to change the landscape of Britain and Europe.

As farming has changed, so to has the landscape. Using the information from this website, create a timeline that describes and explains the major changes that have taken place from 7000BC to 2000AD. Use the pictures from the website or add your own. Keep the text brief.

PC2 Farming