Farming : For farming all you have got to do is simply find some sugar cane ( Spawns next to water ) and plant it once its fully grown cut it down apart from the bottom ( To allow it to grow back without replanting ) Then simply plant all your sugar cane again, You only need 1 sugar cane to start and you can double that then plant them two double, double again, Ect.

Traveling : Not sure about this one in theory it should work but simply make a minecart track which goes in a circle ( Any Size) with power rails, although you could do it without by gettting momentum from going down then up, down then up.