Mixed Farming

Intensive farming is distinct from extensive farming. Intensive farming is carried out in relatively densely populated areas, like the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It involves smaller land holdings than in extensive farming and requires a relatively large amount of manual labor. Thus none of these answer choices are false.

Mixed-crop farming, livestock ranching, dairy farming, and grain farming are all historically prevalent in the United States of America.

“Chaff” is the name given to the thin outer protective casing in which husks of corn, grain, or rice are encased. The process of separating the chaff from the crop that can be consumed is called “winnowing.” Fallow describes land that is left unsown in order to restore its fertility. The hull is the exterior of a fruit or seed.

In the developed world, particularly in Western Europe, the majority of commercial grain farming is used to feed livestock. This is because it is more profitable to raise meat products than it is to grow grain; so grain is grown and fed to livestock, which is in turn culled and sold on the market.

“Hydroponics” is the name given to the method of growing crops in nutrient solutions instead of in soil. This allows food to be grown in arid climates and increases the geographic range in which many crops can be grown. It is common, for example, in desert climates where the soil is harsh and unforgiving.

A “combine,” also commonly called a “combine harvester,” is used to harvest crops such as wheat, corn, oats, and barley. Its name is derived from the fact that it “combines” the three steps of harvesting in one machine - reaping, threshing, and winnowing. Combine harvesters are commonly used in the developed world, but remain uncommon in the developing world.

A “feedlot” is the name given to livestock farming that has been concentrated into a relatively small area. Animals in feedlots are fed hormones to accelerate their growth and are generally kept in extremely close proximity to other animals of their kind. This has numerous benefits for the farmer, but of course raises moral and environmental questions. Chickens are most likely to be raised in feedlots because they can survive without any space and respond dramatically to hormone treatments.

The process of removing the chaff from a crop like grain, wheat, or rice by allowing it to be blown away by the wind is called “winnowing.” Mollification refers to the softening of a substance like soil. Threshing involves the separation of grains or seeds from their plant by mechanical means, such as with a threshing machine. Salinization is the process by which solutes accumulate in soil as a result of water evaporation, which leaves the soil unfavorable for agriculture. Monoculture involves the growth of a single crop within a given area.