FARM TYPES- AN OVERVIEW
Definition– Generally farm is an area of land which is primarily used for agricultural processes with the objective of mainly food production. So, it is the basic component of food production.
It is also defined as a piece or pieces of land operated as single unit of agricultural enterprise under one management.
Important points
- It is an economic unit used for agriculture and livestock production, often, under single management.
- Usually the name “farm” is used for specialized units such as arable farms, vegetable farms, fruit farms, and dairy, pig and poultry farms etc. depends on purpose, its degree of dependence and size of the farm.
- A farm may be owned and operated by a single individual, family, community, a company, may produce one or many types of product, and can be a holding of any size.
- A farm may operate under a mono culture system (cultivation of a single crop in a given area.) or with a variety of cereal or arable crops, which may be separate from or combined with raising livestock.
- Some farms are used to denote their methods of production, as in collective, corporate, intensive, organic or vertical.
Types of Farm
Type of farm is based on the following criteria-
- The main purpose of the farm,
- Its degree of independence and
- Its ‘size’.
Specialized farms
Based on specialty of production specialized farm are as follows-
- Dairy farm- Different types of mammals such as female cattle, goats are raised primarily for milk production, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy for processing and retail sale. Milk can be used to make dairy products. Dairy farms also sell male calves for veal meat, as dairy breeds are not normally satisfactory for commercial beef production. Many dairy farms utilize the farm to grow cattle feed, such as, corn, alfalfa, and hay. This is fed directly to the cows, or stored as silage for use during the winter season.
Dairy Farm - Poultry farming- Poultry farms are used for raising chickens (egg layers or broilers), turkeys, ducks, and other fowl, generally for meat or egg production.
- Pig farm– Pigs or hogs are raised for bacon, ham and other pork products.
Ownership
A farm may be owned and operated by a single individual, family, community, a corporate, may produce one or many types of product.
At some places, collective farming and Co-operative farming is prevalent with either government ownership of the land or common ownership by a local group.
Farms based on size
Based on degree of independence and purpose of farm, it may me micro farm, family farm and other specialized one.
Read also….
FARM MANAGEMENT- DEFINITION & OBJECTIVES