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Geography Quiz - Farms and Farming (Questions)

The study of farms and farming cuts across several areas of study within the geography GCSE. You need to be aware of how modern farming practices affect ecosystems in the natural environment as well as the social and economic aspects of farming in LEDCs and MEDCs. Since farming is a rural industry, it has a significant effect on both accessible and remote rural areas in the UK and you should be aware of how farming affects rural populations.

Farming is also known as agriculture and is a primary industry in which farmers produce crops and rear animals to provide food and various other related products. It is not immune to the factors that affect other industries e.g. recessions, lack of skilled workforce etc. The demand for agricultural produce is constant and is met by a range of farms from large commercial businesses to small family run units.

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You need to be able to describe farms and farming in LEDCs and MEDCs using four key words, choosing them from a list and making sure that they are used together in an appropriate fashion. The list is:

  1. sedentary or nomadic
  2. subsistence or commercial
  3. arable or pastoral or mixed
  4. intensive or extensive

Make sure that you know exactly what each word means, you can check your knowledge and understanding of some of these words in this quiz.

The type of farming carried out in an area is determined by several physical and human factors. The dominant ones are climate and relief which determine which crops grow best and what animals are suited to the area. In the UK, you do not find arable farming in the west of Scotland - the climate and soils are wrong. In Cambridgeshire, where the land is low lying with little relief, well drained fertile soil and warm summers, farming is arable as pastoral and mixed would be a less efficient use of the land.

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1. Which of the following is an example of sedentary farming?
[ ] Slash and burn agriculture
[ ] A farmer moving their cattle from one place to another to find the best grazing
[ ] A market gardening business
[ ] Buying farm land in a different part of the country
2. Which of the following is/are example(s) of nomadic farming?
[ ] Slash and burn agriculture
[ ] A farmer who moves their cows from field to field to find the best grazing
[ ] Market gardening
[ ] All of the above
3. A subsistence farmer is a farmer who ...
[ ] grows crops to sell at a local market
[ ] raises animals only
[ ] raises animals and grows crops to feed the family
[ ] makes a large profit from selling their produce
4. In LEDCs, a change to growing cash crops can help the economy. Which combination of words best describe this type of farming?
[ ] Sedentary, commercial, arable, intensive
[ ] Nomadic, commercial, mixed, intensive
[ ] Sedentary, subsistence, arable, intensive
[ ] Sedentary, subsistence, arable, extensive
5. In a LEDC, which of the following is not a disadvantage of converting from subsistence to commercial farming?
[ ] Less land to grow food for local people
[ ] Commercial farming often requires the use of fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides
[ ] Food can be exported to improve the economy of the country
[ ] Water shortages as limited local supplies are used to irrigate the commercial crops
6. Which of the following happens on arable farms?
[ ] The farmer grows only peppers and courgettes
[ ] The farmer raises animals for sale at market and grows a few crops to feed their family
[ ] The farmer raises pigs and cows
[ ] The farmer grows crops
7. Which of the following is the most likely reason that pastoral farming is the main form of agriculture in the Lake District?
[ ] There are many main roads and motorways that farmers can use to get their animals to market
[ ] The climate is too wet and cold and the soil is too poor to grow crops
[ ] The farmers in the Lake District have never learnt how to grow crops
[ ] People in the Lake District don't eat vegetables
8. Intensive arable farming has become more mechanised since the end of the Second World War. This means ...
[ ] there are now more people available to repair broken down tractors
[ ] robots are used instead of people to do the farm work
[ ] more machines are being used to help with the farm work
[ ] farmers find it easier to change from arable to pastoral farming
9. Which of the following is a good description of extensive farming?
[ ] The farm gives a low yield of produce from a large area
[ ] The farm gives a high yield of produce from a large area
[ ] The farm gives a low yield of produce from a small area
[ ] The farm gives a high yield of produce from a small area
10. A Masai farmer lives in Africa on the Serengeti plain. There is a long rainy season but for four months a year, the Serengeti region experiences a dry season during which the grass dies off and the water supplies are extremely limited. The farmer takes his cattle to a different region, several days away, where there is a good water supply and grass. He keeps a small herd of cows to provide his family with meat and milk. Which of the following would describe this type of farming?
[ ] Sedentary, commercial, pastoral, extensive
[ ] Nomadic, commercial, arable, intensive
[ ] Sedentary, subsistence, mixed, intensive
[ ] Nomadic, subsistence, pastoral, extensive
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Geography Quiz - Farms and Farming (Answers)
1. Which of the following is an example of sedentary farming?
[ ] Slash and burn agriculture
[ ] A farmer moving their cattle from one place to another to find the best grazing
[x] A market gardening business
[ ] Buying farm land in a different part of the country
Sedentary means staying in one place
2. Which of the following is/are example(s) of nomadic farming?
[x] Slash and burn agriculture
[ ] A farmer who moves their cows from field to field to find the best grazing
[ ] Market gardening
[ ] All of the above
This is a form of agriculture often practised in tropical rainforests. It has to be nomadic because the soils become too poor to grow crops after only a few seasons of growing
3. A subsistence farmer is a farmer who ...
[ ] grows crops to sell at a local market
[ ] raises animals only
[x] raises animals and grows crops to feed the family
[ ] makes a large profit from selling their produce
Subsistence farming is important in LEDCs
4. In LEDCs, a change to growing cash crops can help the economy. Which combination of words best describe this type of farming?
[x] Sedentary, commercial, arable, intensive
[ ] Nomadic, commercial, mixed, intensive
[ ] Sedentary, subsistence, arable, intensive
[ ] Sedentary, subsistence, arable, extensive
There are positives and negatives to changing land use from subsistence farming to growing cash crops
5. In a LEDC, which of the following is not a disadvantage of converting from subsistence to commercial farming?
[ ] Less land to grow food for local people
[ ] Commercial farming often requires the use of fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides
[x] Food can be exported to improve the economy of the country
[ ] Water shortages as limited local supplies are used to irrigate the commercial crops
If not used carefully, fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides can pollute drinking water supplies and damage fragile local ecosystems
6. Which of the following happens on arable farms?
[ ] The farmer grows only peppers and courgettes
[ ] The farmer raises animals for sale at market and grows a few crops to feed their family
[ ] The farmer raises pigs and cows
[x] The farmer grows crops
An arable farm is one that grows crops
7. Which of the following is the most likely reason that pastoral farming is the main form of agriculture in the Lake District?
[ ] There are many main roads and motorways that farmers can use to get their animals to market
[x] The climate is too wet and cold and the soil is too poor to grow crops
[ ] The farmers in the Lake District have never learnt how to grow crops
[ ] People in the Lake District don't eat vegetables
In this case, it is the physical factors of climate and soil fertility that means the land use in the Lake District is best suited to pastoral farming
8. Intensive arable farming has become more mechanised since the end of the Second World War. This means ...
[ ] there are now more people available to repair broken down tractors
[ ] robots are used instead of people to do the farm work
[x] more machines are being used to help with the farm work
[ ] farmers find it easier to change from arable to pastoral farming
Mechanisation allows large farms to operate economically
9. Which of the following is a good description of extensive farming?
[x] The farm gives a low yield of produce from a large area
[ ] The farm gives a high yield of produce from a large area
[ ] The farm gives a low yield of produce from a small area
[ ] The farm gives a high yield of produce from a small area
Pastoral hill farms are a good example of extensive farming. The grazing land is poor and cannot support a high density of animals
10. A Masai farmer lives in Africa on the Serengeti plain. There is a long rainy season but for four months a year, the Serengeti region experiences a dry season during which the grass dies off and the water supplies are extremely limited. The farmer takes his cattle to a different region, several days away, where there is a good water supply and grass. He keeps a small herd of cows to provide his family with meat and milk. Which of the following would describe this type of farming?
[ ] Sedentary, commercial, pastoral, extensive
[ ] Nomadic, commercial, arable, intensive
[ ] Sedentary, subsistence, mixed, intensive
[x] Nomadic, subsistence, pastoral, extensive
Any answers with sedentary and commercial in them must be incorrect. This sort of farming is more likely to take place in LEDCs
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