We have all seen pumps that are powered with the wind to supply farms with water for irrigation.  Relying on these sorts of energy is nothing new for farmers.  However, with the sun, farmers get a more consistent energy source compared to the wind.  Skylights that use the sun to dry hay and other products have been around for a long time too, but it is only now that  practical applications such as this is being used again.  Solar dryers are also now being used to dry crops and grain.  A typical dryer is composed of an enclosed shed with screened drying trays or rack.  A solar collector helps collect sun power while a fan helps induce the natural convection to move hot air through the crops to dry them.

As technology improves, so do solar panels.  Solar powered irrigation systems, heat barns and water.  Solar panels are also used to heat greenhouses which can store and collect solar energy.  These buildings are reinforced with insulation to preserve heat even during at night.  To further preserve solar energy, greenhouses usually face the south while the northern side is insulated for heat preservation.

Photovoltaic (PV) panels are also cheaper compared to running power lines across large properties.  They can also be controlled remotely and are used to power electrified fences, lights and water pumps.  Farmers like to use them for remote livestock water supply, pond aeration, and small irrigation systems.

Although converting to solar energy can mean a substantial investment to most farmers, technology will continue to improve and access to cheaper means of converting will be made available in the foreseeable future.  It won’t be long before we can see a fully solar operated farm!

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Green house farming has become necessary because of the shortage of land in some areas.  In greenhouses, farmers can grow vegetables, fruits and some crops all year round.  A company in Canada has found a way to make green houses produce 20 times more fruit using renewable energy to fuel the greenhouse.

These types of green houses are essentially a small world of their own.  It is powered by solar panels that provide power to the green house and a pond for irrigation.  Plants, vegetables or fruits are grown without herbicides with the use of pesticides to the minimum.   Plants are fed due special tubing and there is a restricted use of fertilizer as well due to absence of dust in the green house. Fertilizer use is decreased by half.

As a commitment to sustainable ecosystems and energy use, bumblebees are used for pollination.  The water collected, condensed, filtered from the pond goes back to the green houses to ensure fruitful crops.   This type of technology allows saving more than one-fifth of what is needed in terms of water during regular farming.

With these eco friendly types of green houses, it is possible to harvest 482 tons of tomatoes from one acre.  It is also proving to be profitable with all the expenses covered after 10 years of green house exploitation.  The power generated by the green house can power up to 1500 homes.   Another interesting fact is that plants stay alive for a longer period inside the green house compared to the field, so they are being replaced every six months. With more than 300 days of sunshine every year, the green houses seem to be a perfect facility for all-year crops at the same time being a sustainable farming facility.

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In reality, there are areas in the world that experience drought every now and then. Elevated farm communities for one, need to employ a strict water conservation all year round just to make their water supply last longer than it should. There are also drought-prone areas that pose a problem to its local government when rain won’t come for months on end. Due to these problems, farm water conservation in these areas is highly encouraged. Here are some water conservation ideas that proved to be effective in farm communities:

• Use a water gauge. This way, you’ll be able to notice when there’s a difference in readings. Also, a water meter will help you determine the estimated amount of water you always consume. When it goes high then it’s time to check the water lines for leaks. It can also help you plan accordingly when there’s an expected water shortage to come.
• Cover all dugouts to prevent evaporation from happening.
• Experts believe that a farmer would be able to conserve more water if they use one large dugout instead of multiple smaller ones. Use pipelines to distribute them to their destinations. This will eliminate the need to maintain several dugouts which proves to be time-consuming and not cost-effective too. Moreover, multiple dugouts are very prone to water seepage.
• Upgrading your water facilities is very important as technology today continually evolved to a much better function than ever before.

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Bee farms are cheap and easy. In fact, they are most recommended for small scale farmers with no resources to start their own businesses with. Many organizations are working on introducing this kind of activity for developing countries like Africa and Asia. So far, may farmers have responded and bee farms are faring well.

There’s no better time to start your own bee farm than today since the demand is very high and the supply is somewhat lacking. It opens a door for poor farmers to somehow generate enough income to support his or her family. It can even be a family business since beekeeping can be done by everyone in the family including kids. Best of all, it can blend perfectly with your crops, assuming you’re also growing them. As we all know, bees pollinate, making your crops all the more healthy therefore increasing their productivity level.

Bees produce honey while honey has high value when sold. They are very easy to harvest and won’t require any additional technology to do so. All it takes is a simple know-how which most free seminars will teach you. Furthermore, its byproduct is well sought-after by manufacturing companies and even health conscious individuals so there’s no need to fret where to sell your goods after each harvest.

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Forest farming involves trimming down, albeit cautiously, some certain genus to reestablish balance and equilibrium of a particular forest. Forest farming is encouraged in areas wherein there is an existing issue of overabundance of certain species which restrict growth of other living organisms essential in the biological cycle. Some of the most popular harvests are exotic mushrooms such as Shiitake and other medicinal, edible fungi. This method of farming is not only about harvesting but also it involves planning and cultivating to ensure that the biocycle is not destroyed in any way. Forest farming proves to be a fun and profitable venture that anyone could explore.

Several government funded seminars are conducted to teach locals residing near forest areas about forest farming methods and techniques, as well as the kinds of mushrooms that could be grown in the area. These seminars go as far as how and where to sell your produce after harvests. Aside from mushrooms, there are other crops you can find, grow and harvest in forests since they have rich and very fertile soil that could grow practically anything you can think of. These crops include, but not limited to:  ginseng and ferns which are used for medicinal and ornamental purposes.

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Wind farms are group of wind turbines which produce enough energy to supply thousands of homes from the surrounding areas. Usually, a large wind farm consists of hundreds of wind turbines working together and will cover a large area. Wind farms can be found off-shore, on-shore, near-shore and possibly airborne. The main requirement for a successful wind farm is strong, consistent wind without turbulence all throughout the year, if possible.

Countries all over the world have been exploring this venue for alternative source of energy especially now that traditional sources are steadily depleting. Because of this depletion, energy costs are raising therefore needing to be remedied soon.

As far as farmers are concerned, wind farms won’t affect their farm cycle because the land in which the wind turbines will erect can still be used for farming purposes without any kind of interference. Also, they can benefit from the land’s lease for installed wind turbines. Wind farms are great because they don’t occupy too much space and most of all, wind is free making them cost-effective.

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It is said that even the seas couldn’t unlimitedly supply us with her abundance, so people who demands even more of its aquatic yields thought of a more suitable alternative to the problem. It is the birth of farm fishing.

Farm fishing is raising fish in wide tanks or man-made enclosures to harvest and sell it commercially when they reach their harvesting size and weight. It is more stable source of income to families who relies on fishing.

Farm fishing is not really accepted by eco friendly communities for many varying reasons. Mainly because the fishes are kept in tanks and it contradicts their life in the wild. It is considered brutal to the fishes like when you cage a lion in a zoo. Also, their ecological balance is not satisfied due to infestations of many diseases causing them to die early.

Environment friendly methods are continually modified to improve farm fishing around the world. They are trying to provide solution as soon as they can to avoid further damage to the ecosystem.

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Producing more food and other farming products is not the only determinant of agriculture’s contribution to economy. Effective management of the agricultural products, including their preservation and marketing, is integral to the success of the ago-economic system. Maintaining a good reputation of farming products for commercial progress calls for quality – in turn, a requirement that can not be met without adopting sustainable farming practices. Otherwise, the input in farming is put to risk. Then there is the issue of charming incentives for farming communities, without which the quality of products is bound to dwindle.

A key point in sustainable agriculture for well-off economies is the balance between production and market demands. Framing needs to be considered as a business here, especially in countries like the US where agriculture has been established along well-defined commercial lines. In fact, the corporate nature of agricultural practice in America and other business-oriented countries has led to the use of the term agribusiness. Advanced methods of cultivation and farm management as well as the interest of the corporate sector has more than once led to overproduction of agricultural products in the US, resulting in depression of prices – a problem linked to the imbalance of agro-corporate elements.

Today, a number of factors determining the quantity and quality of agricultural yield remain beyond human control. Environment is the biggest and most fundamental of these factors. Droughts, floods, unexpected seasonal variations, and a range of other environmental phenomena interfere with the predictability of agribusiness in America. Agricultural reforms aiming at thriving economies need to go beyond the interplay of business and science. For more promising results in agribusiness, we ought to include economic and environmental considerations for a well-off future.

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Growing Disease-Resistant Plants

Just like some people have stronger immunities than others, there are plants that are more resistant to the diseases prevalent in the same farming community. This, in part, is also determined by the climatic conditions as some plants prove more disease-resistant in a particular kind of climate. As a general rule, F1 hybrid varieties are mostly immune to diseases and they produce a healthier and greater yield, in addition to blooming earlier.

Getting Greater Sunlight

Crops which are grown in brighter and sunny locations are most often healthier than those grown in shady places. Sunlight not only boosts photosynthesis (natural food-making inside plants) but also evaporates the moisture, which blankets the cultivated land. This latter role of the sun is important in preventing plant diseases since most of the pathogenic microbes thrive and spread in moisture. By drying the surface of the grounds, sunlight eliminates the growth medium of harmful organisms.

Watering Properly

Water is essential to plants as blood is to animals. It is the medium of circulating nutrients and oxygen. But more so for plants since water is part of the chemical process whereby glucose is prepared by the plants in their leaves. Too much and too little water are both harmful to crops. It is important to get information on the right quantity of water for different kinds of plants, soils, and climatic conditions. Watering the foliage (leaves) is usually not advisable and it is generally recommended to water the crops early in the morning. Working in the garden, while the plants are still wet, is also not recommended. This is because water droplets can carry infectious microbes from one plant or part of the land to another and cause diseases.

Providing Healthy Soil

Healthy plants grow in healthy soils and there is no exception to this rule. Healthy soils are fertile (usually with natural organic matter), well-drained, and have a growth-friendly chemical nature (a pH between 6 and 7). Lime or any other additive should not be added to soil without first testing the soil for its pH value. The structure or tilth of the soil also counts in hosting healthier crops. What we need here is some expert opinion.

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A sustainable farm community can be defined as a basically agricultural community that lives by growing crops and breeding animals according to three main principles of sustainability:

•    Maximize economic profit
•    Conserve natural resources and biodiversity
•    Maintain and/or enhance the quality of social life

It goes without saying that all three principles are inter-dependent and violating any one of these disturbs the balance of the system’s components, resulting in increased stress and deterioration of the quality of life. Thus, environmental-friendly practices carried out without paying attention to their costs can create an unhealthy competition for grabbing the most of the available resources in response to financial insecurity. At the same time, the community’s capacity to grow and conserve the quality of life may be at stake. On the other hand, poor environmental management also affects the quality of life by calling in health problems and natural disasters; global warming being a threatening example.

Sustainable farm communities are modeled on natural ecological systems, imitating the green, rural mode of living in which the end products of various life processes are recyclable, i.e. they become a source of energy for another ecologically beneficial process. An important way to attain this sort of natural cyclical sustainability is to practice natural and not industrial agriculture. Bringing natural simplicity to farming automatically increases sustainability of the ecological system that is based on it. This does not mean a radical abandonment of sophisticated lifestyle. But the elements threatening the system’s optimum balance in terms of the three main principles need to be carefully filtered out to a minimum.

The ideal farm community living by sustainable agriculture is one that is keen on maximum biodiversity, satisfactory quality of life, economic affordability of resources, and a disease-free environment for the living members (humans, animals, and plant) of the community.

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