Analysis of sustainable farming system

A) Farm as an Ecosystem: Energy Flow

• Energy flow is the pathway of sunlight through a biological system.
• In relation to the farm, energy capture is enhanced by maximizing the leaf area available for photosynthesis and by cycling the stored energy through the food chain.
• We make money in farming by capturing sunlight – in essence; we are farming the sun (and the soil).

B) Farm as an Ecosystem: Water Cycle

• An effective water cycle includes: no soil erosion, fast water entry into the soil and the soil’s ability to store water.
• Management decisions on the farm that add to ground cover and soil organic matter only enhance the natural water cycle.
• Effective water use on the farm results in low surface runoff, low soil surface evaporation, low drought incidence, low flood incidence, high transpiration by plants and high seepage of water to underground reservoirs (Savory and Butterfield, 1999).

C) Farm as an Ecosystem: Mineral Cycle

• In nature, minerals needed for plant and animal growth are continuously being recycled through the ecosystem.
• An effective mineral cycle is one where there is a movement of nutrients from the soil to crops and animals and then back to the soil, basically a circle of nutrient renewal.
• Ways to enhance this cycle on the farm include: on-farm feeding of livestock, careful
• management of manure and crop residues, and practices that prevent erosion.

D) Farm as an Ecosystem: Biodiversity

• A farm will be dynamic and healthy if it has a high diversity of plants and animals (above ground and below).
• GREATER DIVERSITY = GREATER STABILITY