Agriculture has gone through a seismic change in recent years. Not only has there been controversies such as GM (genetically modified foods), the questionable practices of battery farming chickens, and new chemicals and pesticides created to overcome crop-related disease, but techniques have been transformed to meet the demand of the public.
One of the most modern methods of farming is for crops to be cultivated organically. Not only is this understood to make food more nutritious, but there have also been merits for the environment. After all, farming can also take its toll on the land and natural resources it uses.
A new perspective of farming that many agricultural heavyweights are considering is to make their land a polyculture for production. Whereas many farms would only use a designated piece of land to grow one type of crop (known as a monoculture), scientific findings have revealed that it's actually more economically effective to produce a variety of different crops in one place - making the soil more fertile and ensuring that insects which help with the development of crops are richer in variety. Of course, with agriculture it's all about getting balance to produce the right crop, and so this is something that needs to be done by experts.
Modern methods of farming also need to account for pests that can damage crops and ruin harvests. In organic farming, there is a kind of moot acceptance that there will be pests, but there is a long-term strategy to their removal
