In most Western countries, a centralized dairy processing plant processes milk and dairy products, such as cream, butter, and cheese. In the United States, these dairies are typically local companies, while in the Southern Hemisphere, they may be operated by very large national or multinational corporations.
Dairy farms generally sell male calves for veal, as dairy breeds are not typically suitable for commercial beef production. Many dairy farms also grow their own feed, which usually includes corn, alfalfa, and hay. This feed is either given directly to the cows or stored as silage for use during the winter. Additional dietary supplements are added to the feed to boost milk production.
In some societies, collective farming is the norm, with land either owned by the government or held in common 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 referred to as the “farmstead.” Businesses 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, and they have an average age of 36 and an average of 8 years of education. This is significantly below the 2005 U.S. poverty line of $19,874 for a family of four.
In 2007, corn acreage is expected to increase by 15% due to high demand for ethanol, both within and outside the U.S. Producers expect 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 is engaged in farming. Rice is the main crop produced in Nepal, along with fruits such as apples. Dairy farming and poultry farming are also growing in Nepal.
According to the UN, “green agriculture allocates a larger share of total agricultural input expenditures to the purchase of locally sourced inputs. A local multiplier effect is expected to take hold. Overall, green farming practices tend to require more labor inputs than conventional farming (FAO 2007 and European Commission 2010), creating jobs in rural areas and yielding a higher return on labor inputs.”
