Farm vs. Ranch: What's the Difference?
Table of Contents
Main Difference
The main difference between Farm and Ranch is that the Farm is a area of land for farming, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures and Ranch is a area of landscape used for ranching.
Farm
A farm 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 specialised units such as arable farms, vegetable farms, fruit farms, dairy, pig and poultry farms, and land used for the production of natural fibres, 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 sea.
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 specialise in 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.
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 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.
Ranch
A ranch is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in Mexico, the Western United States and Canada, though there are ranches in other areas. People who own or operate a ranch are called ranchers, cattlemen, or stockgrowers. Ranching is also a method used to raise less common livestock such as elk, American bison or even ostrich, emu, and alpaca.
Ranches generally consist of large areas, but may be of nearly any size. In the western United States, many ranches are a combination of privately owned land supplemented by grazing leases on land under the control of the federal Bureau of Land Management. If the ranch includes arable or irrigated land, the ranch may also engage in a limited amount of farming, raising crops for feeding the animals, such as hay and feed grains.
Ranches that cater exclusively to tourists are called guest ranches or, colloquially, “dude ranches.” Most working ranches do not cater to guests, though they may allow private hunters or outfitters onto their property to hunt native wildlife. However, in recent years, a few struggling smaller operations have added some dude ranch features, such as horseback rides, cattle drives or guided hunting, in an attempt to bring in additional income. Ranching is part of the iconography of the “Wild West” as seen in Western movies and rodeos.
Farm (noun)
A place where agricultural and similar activities take place, especially the growing of crops or the raising of livestock.
Farm (noun)
A tract of land held on lease for the purpose of cultivation.
Farm (noun)
A location used for an industrial purpose, having many similar structures
“fuel farm”
“wind farm”
“antenna farm”
Farm (noun)
A group of coordinated servers.
“a render farm”
“a server farm”
Farm (noun)
Food; provisions; a meal.
Farm (noun)
A banquet; feast.
Farm (noun)
A fixed yearly amount (food, provisions, money, etc.) payable as rent or tax.
Farm (noun)
A fixed yearly sum accepted from a person as a composition for taxes or other moneys which he is empowered to collect; also, a fixed charge imposed on a town, county, etc., in respect of a tax or taxes to be collected within its limits.
Farm (noun)
The letting-out of public revenue to a ‘farmer’; the privilege of farming a tax or taxes.
Farm (noun)
The body of farmers of public revenues.
Farm (noun)
The condition of being let at a fixed rent; lease; a lease.
Farm (verb)
To work on a farm, especially in the growing and harvesting of crops.
Farm (verb)
To devote (land) to farming.
Farm (verb)
To grow (a particular crop).
Farm (verb)
To give up to another, as an estate, a business, the revenue, etc., on condition of receiving in return a percentage of what it yields; to farm out.
“to farm the taxes”
Farm (verb)
To lease or let for an equivalent, e.g. land for a rent; to yield the use of to proceeds.
Farm (verb)
To take at a certain rent or rate.
Farm (verb)
To engage in grinding (repetitive activity) in a particular area or against specific enemies for a particular drop or item.
Ranch (noun)
A large plot of land used for raising cattle, sheep or other livestock.
Ranch (noun)
A small farm that cultivates vegetables and/or livestock.
Ranch (noun)
A house or property on a plot of ranch land.
Ranch (noun)
Ranch dressing.
Ranch (verb)
To operate a ranch; engage in ranching.
“Formally the widow still ranches, but in fact she leaves all ranching to the foreman.”
Ranch (verb)
To work on a ranch
Farm (noun)
an area of land and its buildings, used for growing crops and rearing animals
“a farm of 100 acres”
“farm workers”
Farm (noun)
a farmhouse
“a half-timbered farm”
Farm (noun)
a place for breeding a particular type of animal or producing a specified crop
“a fish farm”
Farm (noun)
a place devoted to producing or promoting something
“an energy farm”
Farm (verb)
make one’s living by growing crops or keeping livestock
“he has farmed organically for years”
Farm (verb)
use (land) for growing crops and rearing animals
“marshes are being drained in order to farm the land”
Farm (verb)
breed or grow (a type of livestock or crop) commercially
“ostriches are farmed in South Africa and Australia”
Farm (verb)
send out or subcontract work to others
“it saves time and money to farm out some writing work to specialized companies”
Farm (verb)
arrange for a child to be looked after by someone, usually for payment
“the babies are farmed out for five years”
Farm (verb)
send a sports player temporarily to another team in return for a fee
“he was farmed out in 1938 and ’39 and came back for two games in 1940”
Farm (verb)
allow someone to collect and keep the revenues from (a tax) on payment of a fee
“the customs had been farmed to the collector for a fixed sum”
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