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🌱 How a farm works as a system

Map a farm as a system: identify its inputs, activities, controls, outputs, and feedback without pretending every farm works the same way.

lessons

~12 min

to learn

🔬 Science

subject

Adults

level

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What you’ll learn

See the farm as a systemUse a boundary and a systems map to describe a farm without oversimplifying it.A farm-system model connects inputs, activities, controls, and outputs, while the chosen boundary determines what each label means.
Trace inputs to outputsExplain how farm enterprises use inputs and produce several kinds of outputs.Enterprises transform resources into products, residues, and losses, and multiple enterprises can compete or cooperate.
Use control and feedbackConnect measurements and rules to decisions, including one irrigation feedback example.Controls guide activities and feedback uses measurements to revise decisions; sensor-based irrigation is one example, not a universal feature.

Questions this course answers

Which statement best describes a farm-system model?

A model names relationships and its boundary; it does not claim that all farms have identical parts or technology.

Match each term to its role in a farm-system map.

These roles are useful labels, but their meaning depends on the boundary and purpose of the model.

Put this measurement-based control loop in a sensible order.

A measurement only helps when it is tied to a decision and interpreted against a stated rule or target.

Grounded in trusted sources

https://www.fao.org/4/w7365e/w7365e04.htm
https://www.fao.org/4/X8234E/x8234e04.htm
https://www.nist.gov/publications/inputs-and-outputs-psl
https://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/pmc/section1/pmc13.htm
https://www.energy.gov/cmei/femp/best-management-practice-5-water-efficient-irrigation
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/agricultural-productivity-in-the-united-states/methods

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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