Definition

A poem by Julie Leoni

Definition

Ferme – 13^th Century, from Old French – a lease or rent.

Firma – Medieval Latin – a fixed payment.

Farming – The cultivation of land for the production of agricultural crops, the raising of poultry, the production of eggs, milk, fruit horticultural crops, grazing or the production of livestock. Includes the production of timber, forest products, nursery products, or sod for man’s use and disposal by marketing or otherwise.

Farming – factory modelled, intensive, monoculture, fast-growth, high-yield, denude, extract, use, process, monetise, capital, bank, loan, manufacture, profit, maximise, exploit, bankruptcy, suicide, economics, standardize, globalize, resource, productise, ROI, efficiency, supply chain, technology, machinery, toxic, methane, nitrous oxide, pesticides, herbicides, steroids, anti-biotics, E. coli, BSE, Foot and Mouth, TB, swine flu, avian flu, zoonotic, pandemic, cages, contaminants, fertiliser, sewage, run-off, algal-bloom, eutrophication, acidification, ocean bioaccumulation, rainforest annihilation, lead, mercury, cadmium, diethylhexyl phthalate, water scarcity, lost biodiversity, deforestation, market forces, supermarkets, customer, consumer, buy-one-get-one-free, food waste, obesity, diabetes, heart disease.

Farming – A way of / [for?] life…

Farming – Evolving, diversifying, hydroponics, aquaculture, fungiculture, permaculture, silviculture, poly-culture, agroforestry, re-wilding, free-range, grass-fed, organic, regenerative, circular, enteric fermentation, carbon sequestration, emissions mitigation, habitat restoration, net-zero, pollinators, companion planting, multi-function, anaerobic digesters, biogas, biodynamic, bioregional, crop rotation, cover crop, no-dig, mulch, compost, swales, small scale, localised, seasonal, co-operatives, potlatch, citizen-science, medicinal, plant-guilds, nutritional density, grey-water irrigation, chicken tractors, humanure, top-soil, solar greenhouses, rain-water harvesting, plant-based protein, eco-systems, community farms, school farms, edible gardens, guerilla gardens, plant pots, allotments, camping, glamping, pony trekking, fishing, WorkAways, Farmstays, Woofing, retreats, education, connection, health.

Farming – Noun / present continuous verb – i.e., the gerund – i.e. – [we hope] it keeps on going on and on

Julie’s award winning debut poetry collection, Farmotherlands, is available here