What is the difference between a Ranch and a Farm?

#homesteading #ranchlife #living #growyourownfood #fourdranch. Attempt any repairs at your own risk.

[solarjudgement]

We call the ranchette a homestead here on east coast. Where your garden and raise livestock of any sort.

But i want to ranch/ homestead with enough land to raise rabbit, chicken, duck, goats, and fish like tilapia and catfish.

[lulavender]

In central California, there are small lots of land, some 2.5 acres or so, dedicated to both crop growing as well as live-stock raising, which has raised the question of what that would be considered, farm or ranch? Thanks for opening the discussion!

[PartyCrewCoolPAD]

I did the whole #CrossCountry design for my ranchers & the plant roots, deck of cards & customized at least some posters for a #microFarm
#Goodluck #Thanks

[boricua]

I agree with fenssiy. I couldn't have said it better.

Now some back history. Most people view a Ranch as a desert type place hence "El Rancho" from Mexico vs. green grasslands "The Farm" or "Cattle Farm" in USA or "Homestead" in Northern US/Canada. So when you have a lot of green it's hard for people to see it as a Ranch. Land size doesn't really matter. But at the end of the day I go back to what fenssiy worded. Hope this helps.

[kareeseboone]

After doing little research myself .. I've come to the conclusion that a Ranch is raising grazing animals such as cows and sheep whereas a farm may have cows and sheep too but their focus is on raising crops. Growing up my understanding was a ranch has thousands of acers a farm had 100's of acres but if you think about it Ranches are primarily focused on cows in Texas so that makes the most sense to me anyway. Im interested in poultry so im assuming that's a poultry farm . But if i raise herd animals too then it could be a Ranch. That's my thought process on it

[fenssiy]

All ranchers are farmers generally forage farmers who raise crops for feeding livestock.
Not all farmers are ranchers, especially commodity farmers who have no livestock operations

[MilkMan]

If you grow both livestock and agriculture for human consumption, you get Farm n’ Ranch

[dvelop]

My guess is farming = 1 main selection for income
ranch = basically as much of your own ecosystem as you can

[davidignacio]

It does not really matter if you call your property a farm or a ranch. The USDA defines farm as a land that yields $1, 000/year in agricultural products. There is really no definition of a ranch. It seems that the term farm is a generic one since all ranches could be classified under the term farm, If we take the traditional view (which I believe fits your definition and understanding of the terms ) a farm is primarily devoted to growing plants, grains and vegetables while a ranch is utilized primarily for the raising of animals mostly ruminants like cattle, sheep or goats. If you add to the mix the term homestead, we have a problem but basically, as see it, a homestead is a property whose primary function is to house its occupants and designed to be self-sufficient. (Farmer or rancher lives in the property while doing farming and ranching to be self-sufficient and the surplus products are sold for profit). I guess the classification boils down on the primary use of the land.