Every day, farmers put food on our tables by working relentlessly; they are unsung heroes. Understanding your farmer is essential to appreciating the food they provide, but understanding their farm is also crucial. The kind of farm dictates the food that is produced and is as distinct as the individuals who manage it.

Here are a few examples of common farming operations:

1. Family Farms

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2020, approximately 98% of farms in the United States were considered family farms, meaning relatives were involved with the business. Furthermore, most family farms are small, and many are handed down from generation to generation. In 2021, small family farms accounted for 89% of all U.S. farms. While some small farms produce a single item, such as eggs, others produce several goods, especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables. Many small family farms sell their goods at local farmers markets.

2. Industrial or Conventional Farms

Industrial farms are large-scale operations that often use synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in order to produce high yields. Often these farms are monocultures, which means they grow the same crop in a large piece of land each year. In livestock production, these farms are called Animal Feeding Operations, or AFOs, if the animals being raised are confined for 45 days or more within a 12-month time frame. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs, are farms where animals are raised, tended and fed in a confined area; they are defined as small, medium or large, based on the type and number of animals, as well as the waste they produce. The purpose of CAFOs is to reduce the footprint required to raise animals.

3. Organic Farms

Organic farms grow and process food without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides (organic fertilizers and pesticides are allowed) and follow specific organic farming practices. The USDA has a National Organic Certification program; however, many small farmers — although they may follow organic practices — often choose not get certified, mainly due to cost and paperwork.

4. Aquaculture/Fish Farms

Aquaculture is the breeding, rearing and harvesting of fish or shellfish and aquatic plants. There are two types: marine and freshwater. Marine farmed fish are usually kept in pens in areas of the ocean, while freshwater fish are in ponds or human-made waterways. Aquaculture was developed to reduce the demand for wild-caught seafood and help rebuild and replenish global seafood supplies. Aquaculture in the U.S. primarily consists of oysters, clams, mussels, salmon, catfish, crawfish, shrimp, trout and tilapia.

5. Apiaries/Bee Yard

An apiary is the location where beehives are kept, sometimes called a “bee yard.” Beehives can be permanently stationed for pollinating certain crops, or they can be mobile, housed in trucks and moved from place to place. Apiaries can be as small as one or two hives or as large as hundreds of hives such as in commercial operations.

6. Ranches

A ranch is land specifically used to breed and raise livestock such as cows, horses, sheep and pigs in order to produce meat. Ranches can focus on one single animal such as cattle, or they can include a variety. Ranches also range in size from very small to large swaths of land.

7. Dairy Farms

Dairy farms are dedicated to raising animals — mainly cows, but also goats, sheep and buffalo — solely for the long-term production of milk. This milk is then processed and sold as is or turned into dairy products including butter and cheese. Although the number of dairy farms has significantly declined over the last few decades, mainly due to consolidation, they still are mostly family-run operations.

8. Urban Farms

Located in cities, often in unexpected places like rooftops, parking lots, warehouses and other spaces, urban farms can be agricultural or animal based. Many urban farms were developed to supply local businesses such as restaurants, while others rely on community support. All urban farms are uniquely tailored to their environment.

9. Mixed Farms

Mixed farms grow agricultural products as well as raise and breed livestock.

10. U-Pick Farms

Farmers at U-pick farms allow customers or the public to pick, choose or cut their own product out of the field or orchard. While some offer a variety of produce, many focus on one or two seasonal items such as apples in the fall, strawberries in the spring and peaches in the summer. They often are located near big cities to attract customers.

11. Hobby Farms

Hobby farms are small-scale operations (less than 50 acres) run primarily for pleasure rather than a business venture. Owners typically have other jobs off the farm to pay the bills. Unlike homesteaders, hobby farmers are not driven by self-sufficiency.

12. Cooperative (Co-op) Farms

Co-op farms are a network of farmers who pool their resources together to improve the quality of goods and services. Many small farmers join a co-op to compete with large operations or to offer their goods to a wider audience.

13. Other Farms

Traditional agriculture grows plants in soil in the ground. Other farms, however, can be vertical, where plants are stacked on top of each other.

Read Also: Farmers Market Etiquette: Do’s and Don’ts

There also are hydroponic, aeroponic or aquaponic operations. Hydroponic farms grow plants in a nutrient-rich water solution; aeroponic farms rely on air to supply a nutrient-rich mist to plants; and aquaponic farms combine aquaculture with hydroponic systems, raising fish to produce waste which then feeds the plants. The plants then purify the water for the fish, creating a mutually beneficial relationship. All these methods seek to produce high yields with minimal resources and less land use, making them well-suited for urban settings.

Over the years, farm practices have evolved and grown dramatically to adapt to new technology and the changing environment. Knowing your farmer and the farm they own goes a long way in understanding where your food comes from and how it gets from farm to table.

Reasons to Know Your Farmer

1. Practical Reason

As humans, we can be a little particular about how we do things. It’s good to have people you trust providing you with the things you need. Food is one of those things you need. Your farmer is the person who grows and cares for the food you eat; he/she is also the person you can talk to about it. Want to try a new veggie? Order a custom CSA? Understand food lingo? The artisan food maker? They’re making a living(hopefully!) off of the food they’re making.

Passionate producers know what went into your food, they’ll have the answers to questions a grocery store can’t. And if there’s one thing you should be able to ask questions about, it’s the food you eat.

2. Economical Reason

Supporting your farmer will strengthen your local economy and revitalize your community. Eating locally and regionally cuts down on transportation and storage costs. Buying directly from your farmer through a CSA or at a farmers’ market is generally cheaper than the grocery store and returns more profit to the farmer than when you purchase indirectly. 

Several studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned businesses, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms — continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community.

3. Ethical Reason

Exchanging money for a good or service is akin to voting for it. Every purchase you make is a vote cast. This means every purchase is a chance to vote for what you value. When you know your farmer and food producer, you know how your food is grown, made and where it comes from. It’s an opportunity to support and promote what you deem important, from organic to sustainable to humane to community-oriented to educational. When you know your maker, you know what’s important to them and you can vote for the food producers who live your values.

4. Holistic Reason

We know you’ve heard it before; we’re a little detached from our environment in these modern times. Buildings don’t offer the same atmosphere that the actual atmosphere does. As family farms declined over the last century, fewer people worked in communion with the land. Knowing your farmer allows you to connect with your roots. And by roots we mean the practice of agriculture that allowed us humans to survive and thrive over tens of thousands of years.

Experiencing the earth produce food, and knowing the farmer who cultivates it, means engaging with the magical cycle that keeps us alive. Your farmer is the key to that cycle and the natural world. Much in the same way, artisan food makers keep traditions alive by going beyond the mass-produced norm with the best ingredients and old-world methods to create foods that harken back to the days before big food took over. 

4. Human Reason

Farmers. Their job is more important than athletes and actors combined without any of the accolades or rewards. Farming is tough. It’s physically demanding, livelihood is dependent upon the weather (which is never as predictable as Doppler wants you to believe), and it’s not particularly lucrative. But it’s essential. If we ever want to take back our food system we have to support small food business owners. The cider makers, the farmstead cheesemakers, heirloom grain bakers, healthy living innovators and sustainable butchers are imperative to our food system. So get to know your farmer and food maker and say thanks.

Important Benefits of Farming

There are a lot of aspects of modern civilization that are not recognizable from earlier eras when considering the history of humankind. Many of the comforts we enjoy today, such as infrastructure, technology, and medical care, were not available to humans back then. But one thing never changes: farming, which is still a necessary component for human life to exist.

People all throughout the world are fed and hydrated by this ancient agricultural method. Although farming methods may vary from nation to nation, the method and its worth are generally the same.

Although it may not be to everyone’s taste, there are a number of significant advantages to rotating the paddocks, harvesting crops, and mustering goats in addition to producing produce. You might want to think about becoming a farmer and leading a more rural lifestyle if you’re trying to find ways to better your physical and mental health or teach your kids valuable values.

After all, with more people moving to the countryside and coastal locations, it might be time for a relevant career change. If you’re wondering ‘What are the benefits of farming?

Farming is Good for Your Health

While being around farm animals all day is an animal lover’s idea of heaven, it’s also really beneficial for human health. There is ample evidence surrounding the mental and physical health benefits of having a pet, but increasingly, the unique way farm animals positively impact human health is being realised too.

Studies have shown that farming animals can:

• Reduce the likeliness of developing asthma and allergies – When humans are exposed to animal dander, dirt and germs frequently from a young age, they are much less at risk of developing these conditions
• Boost your immune system – In a similar vein to the above, studies have shown children growing up on farms have more powerful immune systems, more robust gut microbiomes and experience fewer chronic childhood diseases. This is typically attributed to more movement, higher levels of vitamin D through frequent sun exposure and the regular inhalation of barnyard dust which, contrary to what you may believe, is microbe-rich and helps boost immunity
• Keep your heart healthy – Being around animals on a regular basis helps keep stress levels down, it also lowers blood pressure and cholesterol. The exercise associated with farm work also keeps you active, which helps with weight loss and the risk of obesity
• Have positive mental and emotional benefits – Horses are a commonly used therapy animal and equine riding programmes have had significant success in reducing anxiety and stress in teenagers. Individuals with behavioural, emotional, memory and mental health issues can also have visits/work at Care Farms prescribed as part of their treatment. This is because the benefits of visiting a farm, caring for and interacting with farm animals have proven to provide structure, purpose, a form of relaxation and better-coping skills, among other benefits

It Provides a Source of Income in Rural Areas

Not only do farmers keep everyone fed and watered, but they also play a vital role in the economy and provide essential employment for people in rural communities.

Farming and the agricultural industry as a whole is actually one of the main sources of employment in a lot of places. There are numerous jobs in this area, from the farmers yielding the land to the Technicians working on the harvesting equipment, and the Scientists thinking up farming methods of the future.

In many poor areas and developing countries, farming has been shown to save people from poverty and vastly reduce rates of unemployment. Studies have also shown investment in this area helps the economy in terms of employment more than in other areas, further proving the economic benefits of farming.

Farming Can Help the Environment Thrive

While there are many personal benefits of farming that you can expect, there are also a number of benefits of farming to the environment. As a farmer, if you recognise and prioritise the biodiversity on your land, you will help maintain the essential balance of life for that environment to thrive.

Healthy biodiversity is vital for the long-term survival of humans and other species. It also directly benefits the health of the soil, reduces erosion, provides healthier pollinators and it enables more effective water conservation, all of which are important for successful farming.