Wild farming
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wild farming is a growing alternative to "factory farming" that consists of planting crops that are highly associated and supportive to the natural ecosystem.[1] This includes intercropping with native plants, following the contours and geography of the land, and supporting local food chains.[2] The goal is to produce large crop yields, while still promoting a healthy environment. Wild farming is a backlash against the dominance of factory farming which is a dominant factor in the food industry and has a 'myth'[citation needed] that industrial agriculture is more efficient.[3] Up until the mid 20th century, agricultural crop yields relied on natural inputs such as rainfall patterns, natural soil resources, recycling of organic matter, and built-in biological control mechanisms.[2] Currently, agricultural practices have been conventionalized to include large monocropped fields and the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Avoiding the conventional farming practices, wild farming adopts many practices from sustainable agricultural systems such as agroecology, permaculture, forest farming, and greywater systems.
The four basic guiding principles of the wild farming movement are:
- Direct managers to develop long-term vision for future of landscape
- Basic recognition of ecosystem processes.
- High value on biological diversity.
- To consider the quality of life of the community as well as the self.[4]