A farm (also called an agricultural holding ) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used for specialized units such as arable farms , vegetable farms, fruit farms, dairy, pig and poultry farms, and land used for the production of natural fiber , biofuel , and other commodities . It includes ranches, feedlots , orchards, plantations and estates, smallholdings, and hobby farms, and includes the farmhouse and agricultural buildings as well as the land. In modern times, the term has been extended so as to include such industrial operations as wind farms and fish farms , both of which can operate on land or at sea.
40-579: Hudson Mills Metropark is a park in the Huron-Clinton system of metro parks in Michigan , USA. It is located on North Territorial Road at the crossing of the Huron River , twelve miles (19 km) northwest of Ann Arbor . The park covers 1,549 acres (627 ha) and has an 18-hole golf course, disc golf courses, picnic areas, swings and slides, softball diamonds, a hike-bike trail, nature trails, river fishing,
80-399: A hill farm , while large estates growing cash crops such as cotton or coffee may be called plantations. Many other terms are used to describe farms to denote their methods of production, as in collective , corporate , intensive , organic or vertical . Other farms may primarily exist for research or education, such as an ant farm , and since farming is synonymous with mass production,
120-455: A monoculture system or with a variety of cereal or arable crops, which may be separate from or combined with raising livestock. Specialist farms are often denoted as such, thus a dairy farm, fish farm, poultry farm or mink farm. Some farms may not use the word at all, hence vineyard (grapes), orchard (nuts and other fruit), market garden or "truck farm" (vegetables and flowers). Some farms may be denoted by their topographical location, such as
160-667: A boat launch and 108 boat slips which are rented on a year-long basis as well as a 49-passenger excursion boat on 1,200-acre (5 km ) Kent Lake , an impoundment of the Huron River. The park system has seven 18-hole golf courses and one par-3 course. Park system trails also connect to or are part of larger trail systems like the Washtenaw County Border-to-Border Trail and the Michigan Iron Belle Trail . An overpopulation of white-tailed deer in
200-569: A canoe camp and a group camp. The park is a popular destination for canoeing and kayaking; parking areas near the Huron River provide access for canoe launching. The park is linked to Dexter-Huron Metropark and Delhi Metropark via the Border-to-Border Trail . Canoe rentals are available at Delhi Metropark . This Washtenaw County, Michigan location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Huron-Clinton Metroparks The Huron–Clinton Metroparks system
240-418: A greater share of total farming input expenditures towards the purchase of locally sourced input?(e.g. labour and organic fertilisers) and a local multiplier effect is expected to kick in. Overall, green farming practices tend to require more labour inputs than conventional farming (e.g. from comparable levels to as much as 30 per cent more) (FAO 2007 and European Commission 2010), creating jobs in rural areas and
280-449: A group of manors or simply to hold an individual manor by the feudal land tenure of "fee farm". The word is from the medieval Latin noun firma , also the source of the French word ferme , meaning a fixed agreement, contract, from the classical Latin adjective firmus meaning strong, stout, firm. As in the medieval age virtually all manors were engaged in the business of agriculture, which
320-512: A higher return on labour inputs." Where most of the income is from some other employment, and the farm is really an expanded residence, the term hobby farm is common. This will allow sufficient size for recreational use but be very unlikely to produce sufficient income to be self-sustaining. Hobby farms are commonly around 2 hectares (4.9 acres) but may be much larger depending upon land prices (which vary regionally). Often very small farms used for intensive primary production are referred to by
360-472: A key indicator of status and power, especially in Medieval European agrarian societies . The distribution of farm ownership has historically been closely linked to form of government. Medieval feudalism was essentially a system that centralized control of farmland, control of farm labor and political power, while the early American democracy, in which land ownership was a prerequisite for voting rights,
400-525: A large farm becomes a station . A farm in Africa includes various structures. Depending on climate-related areas primarily farming is the raising and breeding of grazing livestock, such as cattle, sheep, ostriches, horses or goats. Predominantly domestic animals are raised for their meat, milk, skin, leather or fiber wool). You might even come across silk farms. Furthermore, there are plenty of hunting farms, guest farms and game farms . Arable] or irrigated land
440-662: A system of subsidies and market intervention. Until the 1990s, the policy accounted for over 60 per cent of the European Union's annual budget, and as of 2013 accounts for around 34 per cent. According to the World Bank , "most empirical evidence indicates that land productivity on large farms in Pakistan is lower than that of small farms, holding other factors constant." Small farmers have "higher net returns per hectare" than large farms, according to farm household income data. Nepal
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#1733122726882480-559: A year, down from a peak of 10 million in 2009. The park system is primarily tax-funded with a $ 50 million annual budget. The system provides employment for 200 full-time and part-time employees year-round and 1,000 additional summer workers. The rivers are prime fishing and canoeing streams with Delhi Metropark including a short rapids, which while runnable, is the only point other than dams on either stream normally portaged . The park district encompasses Wayne , Oakland , Macomb , Washtenaw and Livingston counties. The park system
520-474: Is a regional park system in Metro Detroit in the U.S. state of Michigan . The park system includes 13 parks totaling more than 24,000 acres (97 km ) arranged along the Huron River and Clinton River forming a partial ring around the metro area. Plans are in development to finish the ring by building hike/bike trails to connect all the parks as a green belt . The parks draw about 7.5 million visitors
560-461: Is a tall building where grains, such as wheat and oats are stored. Farmers also use small round metal buildings to store their grain. These buildings are called grain bins . Dairy farming is a class of agriculture, where female cattle , goats , or other mammals are raised for their milk , which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy for processing and eventual retail sale There are many breeds of cattle that can be milked some of
600-602: Is an agricultural country and about 80% of the total population are engaged in farming. Rice is mainly produced in Nepal along with fruits like apples. Dairy farming and poultry farming are also growing in Nepal . Farming is a significant economic sector in Australia . A farm is an area of land used for primary production which will include buildings. According to the UN, "green agriculture directs
640-510: Is fed directly to the cows, or stored as silage for use during the winter season. Additional dietary supplements are added to the feed to improve milk production. Poultry farms are devoted to raising chickens (egg layers or broilers ), turkeys , ducks , and other fowl , generally for meat or eggs . A pig farm is one that specializes in raising pigs for bacon, ham, and other pork products. They may be free range , intensive, or both. Farm control and ownership has traditionally been
680-462: Is often used for raising crops such as feed grains and hay for animal feeding. On some farms (Astro Farm) star-gazing became very popular because of the excellent optical quality in the desert. The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) which investigates cosmic gamma rays is situated on Farm Göllschau in Namibia . Farm equipment has evolved over the centuries from simple hand tools such as
720-411: Is one of the most important policies of the European Union and is helping in the change of farms from traditional family farms to larger production units. The policy has the objectives of increasing agricultural production, providing certainty in food supplies, ensuring a high quality of life for farmers, stabilizing markets, and ensuring reasonable prices for consumers. It was, until recently, operated by
760-572: Is significantly below the 2005 U.S. poverty level of $ 19,874 for a family of four. In 2007, corn acres are expected to increase by 15% because of the high demand for ethanol, both in and outside of the U.S. Producers are expecting to plant 90.5 million acres (366,000 km ) of corn, making it the largest corn crop since 1944. In the UK, farm as an agricultural unit, always denotes the area of pasture and other fields together with its farmhouse, farmyard and outbuildings. Large farms, or groups of farms under
800-424: Is the norm, with either government ownership of the land or common ownership by a local group. Especially in societies without widespread industrialized farming, tenant farming and sharecropping are common; farmers either pay landowners for the right to use farmland or give up a portion of the crops. Agribusiness is the industry , enterprises , and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in
840-577: The bio-economy , in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit while satisfying the needs of consumers for products related to natural resources such as biotechnology , farms, food , forestry , fisheries , fuel , and fiber . Studies of business growth and performance in farming have found successful agricultural businesses are cost-efficient internally and operate in favorable economic, political, and physical-organic environments. They are able to expand and make profits, improve
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#1733122726882880-586: The geological epoch of the Holocene around 12,000 years ago. It was the world's first historically verifiable revolution in agriculture. Farming spread from the Middle East to Europe and by 4,000 BC people that lived in the central part of Europe were using oxen to pull plows and wagons. Subsequent step-changes in human farming practices were provoked by the British Agricultural Revolution in
920-612: The hoe , through ox- or horse-drawn equipment such as the plough and harrow , to the modern highly technical machinery such as the tractor , baler and combine harvester replacing what was a highly labour-intensive occupation before the Industrial Revolution . Today much of the farm equipment used on both small and large farms is automated (e.g. using satellite guided farming). As new types of high-tech farm equipment have become inaccessible to farmers that historically fixed their own equipment, Wired magazine reports there
960-532: The "farmstead". Enterprises where livestock are raised on rangeland are called ranches . Where livestock are raised in confinement on feed produced elsewhere, the term feedlot is usually used. In the US, in 1910 there were 6,406,000 farms and 10,174,000 family workers; In 2000 there were only 2,172,000 farms and 2,062,300 family workers. The share of U.S. farms operated by women has risen steadily over recent decades, from 5 percent in 1978 to 14 percent by 2007. In
1000-561: The 18th century, and the Green Revolution of the second half of the 20th century. Farming originated independently in different parts of the world, as hunter gatherer societies transitioned to food production rather than food capture. It may have started about 12,000 years ago with the domestication of livestock in the Fertile Crescent in western Asia, soon to be followed by the cultivation of crops. Modern units tend to specialize in
1040-554: The United States, there are over three million migrant and seasonal farmworkers; 72% are foreign-born, 78% are male, they have an average age of 36 and average education of 8 years. Farmworkers make an average hourly rate of $ 9–10 per hour, compared to an average of over $ 18 per hour for nonfarm labor. Their average family income is under $ 20,000 and 23% live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level. One-half of all farmworker families earn less than $ 10,000 per year, which
1080-667: The best producing ones include Holstein , Norwegian Red , Kostroma , Brown Swiss , and more. In most Western countries, a centralized dairy facility processes milk and dairy products, such as cream , butter , and cheese . In the United States, these dairies are usually local companies, while in the southern hemisphere facilities may be run by very large nationwide or trans-national corporations (such as Fonterra ). Dairy farms generally sell male calves for veal meat, as dairy breeds are not normally satisfactory for commercial beef production. Many dairy farms also grow their own feed, typically including maize, alfalfa , and hay. This
1120-457: The crops or livestock best suited to the region, with their finished products being sold for the retail market or for further processing, with farm products being traded around the world. A farm may be owned and operated by a single individual, family, community, corporation or a company, may produce one or many types of produce, and can be a holding of any size from a fraction of a hectare to several thousand hectares. A farm may operate under
1160-432: The land is unable to support a high stocking density of livestock because of climatic conditions. In less developed countries, small farms are the norm, and the majority of rural residents are subsistence farmers , feeding their families and selling any surplus products in the local market. The word in the sense of an agricultural land-holding derives from the verb "to farm" a revenue source, whether taxes, customs, rents of
1200-451: The parks in recent years was handled by a controversial special archery hunt. In 2019 the system conducted prescribed burns on 115 acres of land. 42°31′20″N 83°41′13″W / 42.52214°N 83.68686°W / 42.52214; -83.68686 Farm There are about 570 million farms in the world, most of which are small and family-operated. Small farms with a land area of fewer than 2 hectares operate on about 12% of
1240-571: The parks include picnicking , swimming , hiking , golf and disc golf , horseback riding , canoeing and boating, biking, geocaching and fishing . Winter activities include cross-country skiing , sledding and toboggan runs, ice skating and ice fishing . Lake Erie Metropark has a wave pool . A couple of the parks have youth group camping or canoe camping areas. Ten parks have historical interpretive centers, farm learning centers or nature centers. Lake St. Clair Metropark has 320 boat slips available for stays of up to 5 days. Kensington has
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1280-402: The productivity of land , labor , and capital , and keep their costs down to ensure market price competitiveness. Agribusiness is not limited to farming. It encompasses a broader spectrum through the agribusiness system which includes input supplies, value-addition , marketing , entrepreneurship , microfinancing , and agricultural extension . The land and buildings of a farm are called
1320-411: The same ownership, may be called an estate. Conversely, a small farm surrounding the owner's dwelling is called a smallholding and is generally focused on self-sufficiency with only the surplus being sold. In Europe, traditional family farms are giving way to larger production units where industrial agriculture and mechanization brings large crop yields. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
1360-473: The specialization they are being used for, such as a dairy rather than a dairy farm, a piggery, a market garden, etc. This also applies to feedlots, which are specifically developed to a single purpose and are often not able to be used for more general purpose (mixed) farming practices. In remote areas farms can become quite large. As with estates in England, there is no defined size or method of operation at which
1400-434: The state governor and the other five members are selected, one from each of the five member counties. The Metropark system exists independent from other park systems in the area which include city, township, county and state parks. The park system has its own police force. The park system features 84 miles (135 km) of paved hike/bike trails at nine Metroparks for walking , bicycling and in-line skating . Activities in
1440-449: The word "farm" may be used to describe wind power generation or puppy farm . Farms have special buildings. Some buildings, such as barns , may hold animals. There may be separate buildings for chickens and pigs. On dairy farms, a milking parlor is an important building. It is where dairy cows are milked. The milk is kept in a milking parlor until a milk tanker comes to get it. There are also special buildings for keeping grain . A silo
1480-502: The world's agricultural land, and family farms comprise about 75% of the world's agricultural land. Modern farms in developed countries are highly mechanized. In the United States, livestock may be raised on rangeland and finished in feedlots , and the mechanization of crop production has brought about a great decrease in the number of agricultural workers needed. In Europe, traditional family farms are giving way to larger production units. In Australia, some farms are very large because
1520-494: Was authorized in 1939 and funding began in 1942 with local property taxes providing for most of the budget. Additional funding comes from vehicle admission fees and fees for golf, boat launching, bike and boat rentals, swimming pools and other activities. The Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA) is the body that administers the Metropark system and is governed by a seven-member Board of Commissioners. Two members are selected by
1560-422: Was built on relatively easy paths to individual farm ownership. However, the gradual modernization and mechanization of farming, which greatly increases both the efficiency and capital requirements of farming, has led to increasingly large farms. This has usually been accompanied by the decoupling of political power from farm ownership. In some societies (especially socialist and communist ), collective farming
1600-463: Was their principal revenue source, so to hold a manor by the tenure of "fee farm" became synonymous with the practice of agriculture itself. Farming has been innovated at multiple different points and places in human history. The transition from hunter-gatherer to settled, agricultural societies is called the Neolithic Revolution and first began around 12,000 years ago, near the beginning of
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