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Whole Farm Planning Essay

981 Words4 Pages

Introduction

Plant and animal production are an intertwined web of dependency as animals are largely dependent on plants and plants rely on soils and water in order to sustain and grow. The balance between physical and biological processes in soils, animals and plants need to be consistently managed by farmers in order to produce raw agricultural products in the most economically efficient sustainable way. Farmers can manage and manipulate various processes within these systems in order to maximise outputs.

This Report will describe whole farm planning and how it can be implemented on farms, identify and discuss the tensions between sustainability and short-term profitability in farming systems and describe the Australian land classification …show more content…

Whole farm planning is a management practice in which the farm as a whole is analysed from a physical, ecological, economic and social perspective in order to plan resource management, to ensure the ongoing sustainability and profitability of the farm. Andrew Campbell lists the four principles on which whole farm planning is based on in his books “Landcare – Communities Shaping the Land and the Future” and “Planning for Sustainable Farming”.

The Four Principles of Whole Farm Planning
The four principles of whole farm planning form the basis of how farmers and land owners should aim to manage their farms currently and into the future as new knowledge and technology becomes available. These principles are:
1. Farms should be subdivided into homogeneous land units based on natural features such as soil types, slope, drainage and vegetation rather than on arbitrary boundaries made by man
2. Each land unit should be managed according to its potential and its limitations (potential to degrade), with an understanding of the ecological processes in the operation both within the farm boundary and over the land system and catchment in which the farm is …show more content…

Action plans take into account the issue, the labour required, the timeframe and the resources required to implement each part of the various management practices in order to meet the objective of the farm and business. The action plan should adapt and change as influences of new knowledge, technology and economic factors influence the farm and farmers.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Whole Farm Planning
Advantages
Disadvantages
- It helps farmers to distinguish areas of their farm that are or may become problem areas
- It assists farmers in developing solutions to the various problems they may come across in the implementing of their whole farm plan
- It develops practices in which sustainable production can be achieved on their farms
- The current and future goals of the property, industry, landscape and catchment can be addressed
- Whole farm planning enables the farmer to identify and take advantage of the various catchment opportunities on the farm
- Allows the farmer to make management decisions based on the strengths and weaknesses of their farm and environment
- Whole farm planning is a timely process that may take generations to complete
- It can also be a very costly process as all current infrastructure and fences is rendered virtually

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