3.3 Agriculture Types

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Type 1: Classified by What is Produced

🌾 Arable Farming

Arable farming means growing crops only — no animals are kept. Farmers plough the land and plant things like wheat, rice, maize (corn), potatoes, or vegetables.

Key features:

• Only crops are grown
• The land is regularly ploughed and replanted
• Needs fertile soil and often a fairly flat landscape so machines can work easily
• Common in areas with good rainfall or where irrigation (artificially watering the land) is available

Example: A farmer in East Anglia, UK, who grows only wheat and barley across large flat fields is practising arable farming.

🐄 Pastoral Farming

Pastoral farming means raising animals only — no crops are grown. Farmers keep animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, or pigs for products like meat, milk, wool, or leather.

Key features:

• Only animals are kept — no crops
• Animals graze on grassland or are fed in barns
• Often found in areas that are too wet, hilly, or rocky to grow crops easily
• The focus is on animal products

Example: A sheep farmer in the highlands of Scotland who keeps flocks of sheep for wool and meat is practising pastoral farming.

🌾🐄 Mixed Farming

Mixed farming means doing both — growing crops and raising animals on the same farm.

Key features:

• Both crops and animals are kept together
• This is very efficient because the two activities support each other — for example, animal manure (droppings) can be used as a natural fertiliser for the crops
• Crops that cannot be sold can be fed to the animals
• Reduces the risk of total failure — if crops do badly, income from animals can still support the farmer

Example: A farm in France that grows wheat and also keeps dairy cows is a mixed farm. The cow manure fertilises the fields, and leftover grain feeds the cows.