More Efficiency in Farming: Why the World Needs It ASAP

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There are many people out there who believe that agriculture now makes up only a minute fraction of the world’s labor. That farms across the world are disappearing by the second. Replaced by food-creating machines that spew artificial food products into the world by the truckload. It’s true that the agricultural life has been largely eclipsed by post-industrial, city-centred businesses. But an eclipse doesn’t mean that the eclipsed object has ceased to exist. It merely means that it’s not so easy to get a look at. While the amount of people working on farms has decreased in many countries, agriculture still makes up most of the world’s labor.

It has been argued that agriculture must be more efficient than it used to be. After all, there are more people to feed in the world than there ever has been. And we’re not seeing some severe food shortage as a result of increased demand on agriculture. (At least, if you’re reading this using your Internet connection, you’re probably not.) But this doesn’t mean that farming is any more efficient that it ever was.

When we think of good efficiency, we think of a strong increase in production. But in order for this to be more efficient, that increase in production should come with a decrease in manual labor and machine energy. Efficiency and productivity are not the same thing. Currently, very few farms are focused on this. So we are seeing production of food at a rate proportionate to that of the increased demand. But this is still largely the result of a commensurate increase in energy produced by old methods.

Efficiency in agriculture is more important than ever. This does, of course, have much to do with the manual, muscle-driven labor of human beings. Agriculture has joined the rest of the business world in seeing people work more hours and becoming more stressed.

But it also has a lot to do with the impact of farming on the environment. Recent studies have shown just how much of an impact agriculture often has in this area. It’s more than most people realize. Some of the biggest offending companies when it comes to environmental damage are agricultural. A part of this has to do with business owners not investing enough in improved parts & accessories for the farming sector. But, for the most part, it’s the result of animal agriculture - which may have the biggest impact on the environment than anything else.

Sustainability is, of course, a big part of tackling this sort of thing. It’s certainly a big focus here at Better Farm. It’s part of why we don’t take part in animal cruelty on our farm. But how can we convince the farming sector to turn to more sustainable methods en masse? It’s doubtful they’re all going to cease involvement in meat production any time soon. But what about the methods of crop production?

Of course, this can all be helped by better equipment. But is the agricultural sector getting the funding it needs to get that better equipment? It’s possible that more farms should be looking into some government aid for getting more efficient equipment. Aside from that, part of the problem could be that not enough people are aware of the problem. So here’s an article that we hope will help. Spread the word.