Extensive Farming and Intensive Farming

Extensive Farming and Intensive Farming are two farming methods you may encounter from time to time.  Both have the objective of providing the player with more food and higher yields per plot of land but differed in how they achieve this. Extensive Farming uses fewer resources using fewer plots of land while Intensive Farming uses more resources using larger areas and more plots of land.

Extensive Farming  

Extensive Farming is also known as “Growth” or “Chrono farming”.  This farming method had been practiced by farmers, space travelers, and even traders for thousands of years.  In essence, it is a form of sustainability that allows one to grow exponentially without using resources or affecting any other living creatures.  Extensive farming is a low-impact system of gardening that enhances the environment and produces food.  Players should be able to use this method on any planet they visit. It is usually carried out with very little space, or even in space.

Benefits of Extensive Farming

1) Healthy plants and crops – The plants grown will get a boost in growth and yield efficiency.

2) Lower Inputs – Fewer chemicals, less water, and less land are used, but more food is produced.  

3) Low Maintenance (Usually less than 2-3 hours of maintenance a week) – It makes it easier to keep up with the farm.

4) Fast Growing – The plants grow very fast while using minimal space. The faster they grow the better the yield!   If you adjust the growth settings manually, it can reach up to a 50% yearly increase in yield on certain planets.

Intensive Farming 

In contrast to Extensive Farming, Intensive Farming is also known as “growing” or “Science”. It involves technological solutions to provide an agricultural output many times greater than its land usage. The approach the author proposes uses modified game files to change game mechanics and improve the gameplay experience without altering any of the original content.

Benefits of Intensive Farming

1) Increase the ecosystem – This is a form of sustainability that allows one to grow exponentially without the use of resources or affecting any other living creatures.

2) Customizable system – This means every player will be able to tweak their farming set up to fit their play style.   They can decide how many plots they want, which plants should be grown in them, and how much food they want to produce. 

3) Long-term viability – These farm types are best suited for long-term planning and long-term yields. The longer you farm it, the better your results!  Intensive Farming requires constant maintenance (like 3-4 hours per week).

4) High yield – The result of the farm is a high number of plants, higher crop efficiency, and reduced plot price. 

Difference between Extensive and Intensive Farming

1) Intensive Farming uses more resources in a shorter time than Extensive Farming.

2) Intensive Farming is a form of sustainable agriculture, whereas Extensive Farming is not.

3) In general, Intensive Farming produces food faster than Extensive Farming. 

4) Intensive Farming requires a lot of maintenance while Extensive farming requires less maintenance.

5) Intentional farming can be scaled up if you want to reach higher yields on planets with lower productivity.

6) Intensive Farming can be scaled down if you want to speed up the growing process.

7) In general, Intensive Farming produces more food per area. 

8) In general, Intensive Farming requires more time and maintenance than Extensive farming crops. 

9) In general, Intensive Farming requires less room than Extensive farming crops.

10) In general, Intensive Farming requires more planning and advanced knowledge of how an ecosystem functions than Extensive Farming. 

11) The number of plots you own will be the same for both methods.

12) Intensive Farming is an expansion of the Extensive Farming method, which can be used to increase the total yield per area.

13) The two methods are not mutually exclusive and can be combined in various combinations to achieve a higher yield than either method alone. You can decide how much land you want to dedicate to each farming method and how efficient you want your farm to run.

Conclusion

The principle of “Intensive” or “Extensive” farming shows that there are easier and harder ways of growing crops. Intensive Farming is less hassle to both the player and the planet. While Extensive Farming requires a lot of resources, Intensive Farming requires very little. In short, Intensive farming allows one to grow exponentially without creating stress on the environment or other systems. Some players may prefer using Intensive Farming if they think it is going to save them time and effort about creating crops for their farm. While others may feel that makes more sense for them since their time is not so much a priority.