Farm practice – what farmers actually do on their farms – is the
crux of the whole endeavour. It is the thing that humanity
absolutely has to get right – for if we do not, then, frankly,
we have had our chips, and so has everything else. Farming is so
various and complex and inter-connected with everything else
that people do, and with wild nature, that at this point it is
hard to offer a coherent introduction to this section. Suffice
to say only that we will look at all aspects of food production
– but focusing in this section on the practice. The underlying
science, the marketing, the economics and so on are all
discussed elsewhere. Rough structuring is certainly possible,
however . Clearly we must have separate headings for Arable,
Horticulture, and Livestock, the principal kinds of farm
enterprise. The growth of interest in Agroforestry worldwide (or
so it seems) is one of the few encouraging signs in the modern
world. Aquaculture has often been neglected of late – but in the
past it has often played a hu