small farms
Modest agricultural holdings
Small farms are agricultural operations modest in size, typically family-owned and worked without extensive hired labor.
The definition varies by region and crop—what counts as small for cattle ranching differs from vegetable production.
Small farms often emphasize diverse crops, sustainable practices, or direct-to-consumer sales: We buy our eggs from a small farm outside town.
The term carries connotations of traditional agriculture distinct from industrial agribusiness.
- market gardenPlot growing produce for sale
- cooperative farmingJoint agricultural enterprise
- subsistence farmingGrowing food for household
- companion plantingGrowing compatible plants together
- seed savingPreserving plant material for replanting
county fair · smallholdings · farmers' markets · pick your own · crop rotation · permaculture · agroforestry · tenant farming · farmer cooperatives · barn raising · organic farming · family farms · back forty · homesteading · dirt road · chicken coop · biodiversity · intercropping
- Rural Louisianaparish schools, rural communities, pine forests, agricultural land, dairy farming
- pre-industrial lifefarming, agriculture, handicrafts, traditional methods, manual labor
- Alpine Pasturesalp, alpine meadows, grazing, grazing land, meadows
- Appalachian economycoal barons, company towns, scrip, black lung, strip mining
- Latin American farminghaciendas, maize, cacao, bananas, coffee farms
- farm economicscrop prices, crop insurance, crop yields, crop failure, harvest yield
small farmsindustrial farms
Large-scale mechanized agriculture operations
factory farms · megafarms · corporate farms · agribusiness · industrial agriculture