EFFICIENT FARMING

By: Ian Smith

Mrs. Shelly Beck
8th Period Science GT
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California is experiencing one of the worst droughts it has ever recorded in the
last 1200 years, per CNN. As the rain seemingly begins to dry up, land around t
he world seems to be drying up with it, Farmers are beginning to see their crops
dwindle away. It is quite event there is a need for a more efficient way of far
ming that it both water efficient as well as bountiful. Scientists, Farmers, and
Consumers all seem to be trying to figure out one thing; What is the most effic
ient mode of farming?
There are 3 main candidates found for the balance between resources needed and p
roduct produced. These 3 are Greenhouse, Terrace, and Traditional crop rotation.
As found by Daniel Cleiry in his studies of farming in places with low rainfall
, all of these modes of farming exceeded common expectation and was impressed ma
ny of the locals. Although there seemed to be some holes in his experiment such
as the amount of water used, sunlight hours, soil between each plant and soil us
ed, it seems to be a promising start to a worldwide problem.
Studies of Farming goes all the way back to the dark ages. Before there was ever
such a thing as farming, people relied on hunting and gathering as there soul f
ood source. Legend has it, in 6000 B.C when a small village gatherer just outsid
e of a Middle Eastern city named Jericho had extra grain from cooking bread, she
threw the rest out to the field neighboring the village. The following year she
found the grain was just as soft and edible as the ones she picked in the field
s. She began planting year after year for the following years food. Flash forwar
d to the Middle Ages (5th century-15th century) and here youll find the first for
m of alternate crop rotations as well as plows for tearing the hard dirt exposin
g fertile soil beneath it.
The way I will be answering the question of What is the most efficient way of far
ming Is by testing a controlled version of the experiment conducted by Daniel Cle
iry. The setup will include three 12 by 3 frames with the 3 different modes of fa
rming affecting each test subject. The 3 models will include a Greenhouse frame
made of PVC pipe, Plastic screens, as well as a mister to emulate the process of
cooling off plants used by Zain, Muhammad, Imran Khan, and Shakeel Anjum in the
ir experiment. The next model will have 2 rows of soil, as well as a controlled
water runoff point to insure even distribution between both rows to emulate the
terrace farming seen in peru and other parts of the world. The Last frame will b
e the traditional crop rotation used for centuries. The way this will be achieve
d is by using soil of an old plant and replacing it with the basil plant i will
be using for al 3 of the tests. Every day, the amount of water and sunlight will
not be changed, but the height of the mode of all of the basil plants used will
be recorded.
In conclusion, The need for an easily accessible mode of farming needs to be fou
nd and taught to local as well as international farmers around the world. The ex
periment being conducted will hopefully be effective in finding results.
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Bibliography
"How Historic California Drought Hurts Nation - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Networ
k, n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2016.
Zain, Muhammad, Imran Khan, and Shakeel Anjum. "The causes of food insecurity an
d preventive measures." Technology Times 23 Aug. 2015. General OneFile. Web. 8 D
ec. 2015.
"Terrace Farming: An Indigenous Model for Food Security." Truthout. N.p., n.d. W
eb. 08 Dec. 2015.
Clery, Daniel. "Desert Farming Yields First Results." Science AAAS. N.p., 7 Nov.
2013. Web
"Greenhouse Growing: Tips for Basic Greenhouse Cultivation." Mother Earth News.
Web