FarmingComparisons of Different Methods

Subsistence Growing food for

your own use.

Cash Crop Growing a crop to

sell for money.

Conventional Using Mostly fossil fuel powered

farm equipment instead of human labor.

Synthetic chemical pesticides to kill pests/insects.

Synthetic chemical herbicides to kill weeds.

Synthetic chemical fertilizer to increase soil fertility.

Organic Using

Some fossil fuel powered machinery but usually a higher percentage of human and animal based power.

Natural methods of pest and weed control including: Biological control Hand picking Mechanized weeding

Natural fertilizers either made from animal manure or composted organic material.

Biological Control Encouraging/introducing natural

predators and diseases that kill pests and weeds. Using farm animals such as goats

or chickens to eat weeds/insect pests.

Directly introducing a predator. Using natural landscape features

to give predators a place to live/overwinter in.

Biological Control

Integrated Pest Management Using mostly organic

pest management and some targeted applications of least toxic pesticides.