What Is Arable Farming?

Arable farming deals mainly with cultivating crops on viable land. Crops grown by arable farming include vegetables, cereals and plants that produce cloth or oils.

Arable farming is influenced by physical and human factors. Crops such as wheat or oats require a warm climate and fertile soil to flourish. They also require flatland that allows the use of combine harvesters and other machinery.

Most arable farmers use crop rotation to maximize their yields. Crop rotation involves moving crops between fields for a given period to help prevent depletion of the soil’s nutrients. Given that different crops require different nutrients, crop rotation maintains the productivity of the fields and the health of the soils for a long time.

Advancements in agricultural technology, the introduction of new crops and the application of current crops to new uses help arable farmers to farm easily and realize reasonable profits from their farms. Farmers use the profits to expand their farms and improve their production. Many large companies practice arable farming today, due to the profits and benefits accrued. As a result, agribusiness is becoming more profitable with time.

Arable farming is less demanding than livestock farming. Therefore, areas that practice arable farming have more crops than animals.