There are different ways in which farming can be done sustainably.
- Crop rotation: this method of farming has been around since the sixteenth century. The same crop is not grown in the same field for two years in a row with this farming method. Crops are rotated from field to field each year. Due to this, the soil in a particular field in not depleted of the nutrients that a certain crop needs, and it is given a chance to recover.
- Proper care of soil: many farmers use herbicides and pesticides to protect their land from weeds and harmful insects. In Ireland, farmers who use herbicides and pesticides have to inform the Department of Agriculture to get permission to do so. They are only allowed to be spread at certain times of the year and in the correct amount to reduce the chances of soil contamination. Farmers can lesssen the damage caused by poaching by ensuring good tracks to fields and by using multiple access routes to fields where possible.