Student Activity

1. For each farm complete the farm profile analysis table below

2. Select from the checklist, words you think best describe each farm profile. You may need to check you know the meanings of all of these words before you start.
organic farming farming business labour-intensive extensive farming fertiliser
government subsidy grain growing milk producer family business pasture
pastoral farming sustainable farming value added product niche market
high value processing machinery

3. Select from the list below, words which you think best describe each farmer's attitude to
? changes in his/her farming business
? clever flexible hardworking resourceful thoughtful
? innovative logical confident caring survivor
? enthusiastic independent successful business-like ambitious
? negative positive realistic perceptive lazy

4. All the changes that the three farmers undertook cost money. List the costs that each farmer incurred under the following headings
STARTING UP COSTS RUNNING COSTS OTHER COSTS

5. Overall what would you say was the most significant factor(s) in creating change at each farm?

6.The Future
What factors will be important to the continuing success of the three farms?
What do you think will happen?

7. Using Resource 3 - the flow diagram of the major types of farm diversification for ideas, what would you do if you were faced with similar circumstances to:

Farmer 1 - who wanted to remain in the countryside but the farm was not big enough to support another family?

Farmer 2 - who wanted to remain in farming but the dairy business was making a loss?

Farmer 3 - who wanted to remain in organic farming but the dairy herd was not big enough to support a viable income?

Justify the decisions you make.