DISADVANTAGES OF CULTIVATION Cultivation has the potential to destroy soil structure and make soils more prone to other forms of degradation, such as erosion. Incorrect use of cultivation can have the following effects: There may be a reduction in soil organic matter and therefore a decline in soil structure.

With tree plantations, corporations gain access and control of forest land and resources, often depriving communities of their means of subsistence. Usually, they negatively impact the cultural and biological diversity of the area.

A plantation is a large-scale estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops. The crops that are grown include cotton, coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar cane, opium, sisal, oil seeds, oil palms, fruits, rubber trees and forest trees.

One key disadvantage to mixed cropping is the limitations it places on capacity. Though it is far more efficient, particularly in smaller spaces, you are only able to grow half as many of each crop when two share a field than if you had one field devoted to each.

The best known type of integrated mixed farming is probably the case of mixed crop-livestock systems. Cropping in this case provides animals with fodder from grass and nitrogen-binding legumes, leys (improved fallow with sown legumes, grasses or trees), weeds and crop residues.

The cultivation of crops alongside the rearing of animals for meat or eggs or milk defines mixed farming. For example, a mixed farm may grow cereal crops such as wheat or rye and also keep cattle, sheep, pigs or poultry. Often the dung from the cattle serves to fertilize the cereal crops.

One acre of land in a good year yields about 20 quintals of wheat. A quintal is equal to 100 kilogrammes. In a bad year, like the current one, the yield can go down by half or three-fourths i.e. 7-10 quintals. At a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,450 per quintal a farmer can get about Rs 29,000 per acre.

Through multi-layer farming, Thammaiah is growing 300 varieties of plants, from coconuts, jackfruits, millets, leafy vegetables, mangoes, areca nut, bananas to black pepper on just one acre! The kind of benefits that Thammaiah is reaping is something that a farmer only dreams of but is hardly able to achieve it.

One acre isn’t likely large enough to accomplish all of those things and be completely self-sustaining, but it is certainly large enough to be sustainable and practical.

A farm is a tract of land cultivated for the purpose of agricultural production. A farm is classified of having $1,000 or more of agricultural products being produced or sold. A Small Farm, according to USDA census is a farm that is 179 acres or less in size, or earns $50,000 or less in gross income per year.