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.
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 corn, alfalfa, and hay. This 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.
In some societies, collective farming 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.
The land and buildings of a farm are called 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 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.
In 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. which 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 of corn, making it the largest corn crop since 1944.
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 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.
According to the UN, “green agriculture directs a greater share of total farming input expenditures towards the purchase of locally sourced input. A local multiplier effect is expected to kick in. Overall, green farming practices tend to require more labour inputs than conventional farming (FAO 2007 and European Commission 2010), creating jobs in rural areas and a higher return on labour inputs.”