53 Types of Farming: A Brief Overview

Farming is the process of cultivating food or non-food crops and raising animals for human profit. Farming can also be operational on a small scale or for personal usage or can be functional for meeting the needs of large-scale commercial production by a collective force.

Depending on the evolution of human civilization, the scopes & requirements of individuals, farming processes can be classified into various types. Let’s look deeper into the types of farming.

What is Farming: A Brief History

The types of farming processes trace back to the primitive ages when people used to grow crops on particular lands multiple times just to meet the nutritional needs of their families or community members.

Later, the nomadic hunters started to hunt animals to feed on them and eventually learned how to raise livestock as a sustainable option to live.

Over time, agribusiness heads adopted several new types of farming techniques and methods for increased production to fulfill the ever-growing requirements of the population. 

However, some farmers still use the traditional methods of farming that help maintain biodiversity while retaining natural resources like waterbodies and soil & protecting the environment by preventing soil erosion and the imbalance in nature.

Which Kind of Farming is Right for You?

Let’s discuss what kind of farming procedure will be right for you before we get deeper into the brief descriptions of each type of farming. 

If you want to grow certain crops solely for the purpose of your and your family’s own consumption, then you should opt for subsistence farming. You might have been a kitchen gardener for ages without even knowing about it.

If you want to grow crops for marketing purposes, go for commercial farming methods. 

However, if you can invest a huge capital and labour for crop production, you might go for intensive marketing and if you own big land areas, but do not want to invest a lot of labour, extensive marketing might be right for you.

If you are conscious about environmental health and want to focus on zero chemical fertilizer usage, go for organic farming, permaculture, etc. 

Depending on the locality, rainfall, and crop requirements, you can go for farming techniques like horticulture, aquaculture, green manuring, and other types of crops that are rainfed or dryland, irrigated or tropical, temperate and even highland or lowland farming techniques. 

If you are someone who wants to try out a technology-based farming process, precision farming can be a great method for you.

There are other different types of farming such as dog farming, dairy, poultry, goat, sheep farming, and ranching that are focused on supplying commercial products like milk, wool, skin, etc. 

Depending on your requirements, climate, temperature, convenience of transportation, market demands, sources, and your ability to invest in the farming industry, you can go for any type of farming that suits you the best.

Introducing The Types of Farming

The Factors Responsible for The Differentiation of Farming Methods

The types of farming are not just limited to the practice of growing any random food crop & raising livestock. It refers to a strategic implementation of tried and tested processes that can address the nutritional requirements of the population.

Some people grow farms in their houses for personal use. That is also one of the types of farming. Some farming operations take place in large-scale areas for industrial use. Some farmers grow some particular crops depending on the requirements. Based on all these factors, farming is classified into 53 different types of agriculture farming. 

Let’s have a closer look at them.

Scale & Intensity Diversifying The Farming Process

• Subsistence Farming: One of the popular types of farming refers to farming crops by individual farmers on small land areas usually having few acres or even less than that. Farmers use primitive technologies for subsistence farming or livestock raising just to feed their families. 

They do not do it with the intention of making a profit by selling any surplus product in the market.

• Commercial Farming: Commercial types of farming provide the necessary food as well as the raw materials for larger industries. It refers to large-scale production and is also called agribusiness.

• Intensive Farming: Intensive types of farming production depend on the requirements of the growing population in terms of nutrition and other usages. It involves collective human efforts and capital investments to ensure huge production from smaller lands. 

However, excessive use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides & pesticides is used in intensive farming processes to ensure that the requirements are fulfilled. It can be detrimental to the environment.

• Extensive Farming: The extensive types of farming processes operate on larger farming areas without involving a significant amount of labour and capital investments to produce food and non-food items. Due to lower investments, the farmed products usually have lower market prices.

Also, it helps maintain biodiversity & contributes towards animal welfare. This farming process does not harm the environment.  

Different Types of Farming Based on Crops & Livestock

• Crop Farming: It refers to farming agronomic crops for consumption as well as trade usage. A wide variety of crops are cultivated with this process such as fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, fibers, etc.

• Livestock Farming: With these types of farming processes various animals are raised and cared for to get meat, eggs, wool, and other dairy products like milk. Cattle, cows, chickens, etc are reared with this process.

• Ranching: Ranchers usually supervise larger areas of land for grazing purposes. In the lands, animals like cows, sheep, and even bison can be reared. The lands are used for breeding, grazing, and raising purposes only. 

The breeding ground is so crucial for farming that sometimes the federal U.S. government lets the ranchers lease some of the public lands for grazing and rearing along with private properties.

• Mixed Farming: This farming system refers to the harvesting of various crops alongside rearing animals on the same land. It increases the possibility of earning more profits from the farming land while managing it in a better manner. 

It is considered one of the best types of farming that involves almost zero use of chemicals and is considered good for environmental health. Mixed farming lands may produce food crops while being the grazing land for cattle or other animals. 

Also, their dung can be utilized as fertilizers that will naturally replenish the nutrients of the soil.

• Dairy Farming: Dairy farming involves rearing, feeding, and caring for cattle or cows to increase the production of milk and other dairy products. This farming type ensures a good quantity and quality of milk production. 

Several technologies are implemented for good farm management and cow health by preventing any disease.

• Poultry Farming: Poultry farming refers to the raising of several types of birds for collecting their eggs and meat. 

These types of farming provide food security and contribute to the economic development of a nation because the market has a higher demand for these nutritional food sources. 

It is a low-maintenance farming process with a good margin of profit and less capital investment.

• Beef Cattle Farming: This farming type ensures the production of a good protein source throughout the country by raising cattle. Ranchers supervise a wider land area utilized for raising and grazing purposes of cattle to provide beef to the entire population.
• Sheep Farming: With this farming process the ranchers provide the population with the meat of sheep and the industries with dairy products and wool. 

It strengthens particularly the rural economy because apart from dairy products and meat, the production of manure is also considered to be an excellent fertilizer for crop production. 

Also, the rapid multiplication of sheep increases the profit margin and they control weed growth by consuming them. It is an organic alternative to herbicides.

• Goat Farming: This low-cost farming process provides a lot of products such as meat, fiber, milk, mohair, cashmere, and even skins. Goat milk is in high demand in the market because they cause fewer allergies than cow milk. 

Also, they can survive in harsh weather conditions making the farming process highly profitable with less investments. 

• Aquaculture: This refers to fish farming or the cultivation of fish and other aquatic species that have high demands in the commercial market. These types of farming contribute to increased food security and economic growth. It also helps in restoring the natural habitats, thus maintaining the ecological balance. 

Explaining Different Types of Farming Methods

• Organic Farming: This farming process is utilized for the production of crops without any implementation of harsh chemicals or fertilizers. The organic method of farming boosts soil health, replenishes the micro-nutrients of soil, and maintains environmental health. 

• Precision Agriculture: These types of farming processes utilize the latest technologies like GPS and other automation technologies to increase the efficiency and production level of crops. 

The technology-based farming system lets the farmers have a detailed knowledge of the exact requirements and qualities of seeds, pesticides, or fertilizers that they need to boost crop production. This enhances the quality of farmed products from all aspects.

• Regenerative Farming: It is a holistic framing process that produces crops while focusing on the betterment of land and environment. This leads to the prevention of soil erosion, betterment of soil quality, and improving the capacity of water holding without harming the microbial communities residing in the soil. 

It also ensures that the emission of greenhouse gases is controlled, the balance in biodiversity is well-maintained, and zero utilization of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

• Hydroponics: These types of farming grow plants in a water solution that is rich in several nutrients instead of growing them in soil. It ensures the rapid growth of disease-free plants while better conservation of water and the environment. 

• Aeroponics: In this process, plants are cultivated without soil and with the help of a mist rich in vital nutrients and more oxygen. It generates healthier plants and fosters faster growth. This process reduces land and water usage and provides food security throughout the year.

• Permaculture:  This farming process is one of the most effective types of farming that lead to a sustained environment and well-maintained biodiversity by zero usage of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, improving the health of the soil, minimizing waste production, better usage of natural resources, water retention, and protecting wildlife. 

It leads to better sequestration of carbon particles by planting plants and trees. The process involves less requirement of human labour. 

• No-Till Farming: This is also known as a direct drilling farming process, one of the most convenient types of farming that helps maintain the soil structure and carbon levels so that the soil fertility gets increased. This is a sustainable agricultural practice resulting in less soil erosion, better water management, and improved quality of air. 

• Intercropping: Intercropping refers to the cultivation of several types of agriculture farm crops on the same land repeatedly. It leads to better usage of land resources. It involves the plantation of plants that can control weed management in a better way. It improves the soil quality by replenishing the lost nutrients and suppressing pathogen growth.

• Crop Rotation: It involved cultivating various crops following a certain order on the same piece of land. The crops planted will help the soil retain its nutrients at maximum capacity while reducing the growth of pests, weeds, and other plant diseases. 

• Green Manuring: These types of farming practices refer to the process of plowing green plants into the soil with the intention of improving their quality, health, structure, fertility, and biological conditions. 

It is beneficial for the soil’s health as it provides enough nitrogen supply to the soil until the next crop is sown. It also controls the level of environmental pollution and prevents the leaching of soluble nutrients in soil.

Types of Farming Based on Geographical Location & Climate

• Rainfed Farming: It involves the cultivation of crops without any irrigation system. The crop production depends solely on rainfall and the world’s most croplands depend on the rainfall only for food production. 

• Irrigated Farming: With these types of farming, farmers can grow crops in areas that are drought-prone or suffer from less or irregular rainfall. Though capital investments are crucial for establishing a proper irrigation system initially, it can produce crops throughout the year instead of depending on the rainfall only. 

Also, it can cool down the soil temperature and protect the atmosphere while protecting the crop seeds from frost. It creates the most reliable food supply source in the world as farmers grow the food crops following a particular schedule, thus reducing the chance of food shortage.

• Dryland Types of Farming: Dryland farming involves the procedure of growing certain crops without the need for irrigation. It grows crops like pulses, millets, wheat, groundnuts, barley, etc. which do not need a lot of water supplies in order to grow. This process significantly reduces the cost associated with setting up irrigation systems.

• Tropical Farming:  This farming process is functional in countries like India, Africa, Latin America, Australia, and Southeast Asia, areas that fall between the imaginary lines of the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. 

It produces crops that are cultivated in agroforestry, precision agriculture, and organic farming with crop rotation systems such as guava, pineapples, pomegranates, papaya, avocados, etc. All of these have high market demands & also lessen greenhouse gas emissions.

• Temperate Farming: It is a functional farming process to ensure higher crop productivity to meet the requirements of large-scale agricultural needs. This process operates in a specific temperature zone ranging between 23.5 degrees to 66.5 degrees.

Lands that fall between the Arctic and Antarctic circle usually make use of this farming process to ensure food security.

• Highland Farming: It refers to the primitive form of farming process mostly practiced by ancient forest dwellers. This is called the Slash-and-burn cultivation process. 

There are other two segments of this farming process called highland mixed farming, practiced in Africa to produce mountain items like highland flowers, organic honey, mohair, or wool. 

Another is highland cattle raising which refers to the breeding process of commercial brood cows famous for their long eyelashes. 

It involves significant human labour and operates in rural mountain areas where the population is less.

• Lowland Farming: This farming process naturally produces a lot of commercial and agricultural items on lands that are highly fertile. The water availability is also higher in the lowlands with higher solar radiation to produce biomass. Lowlands are also excellent breeding grounds for livestock.

Economic & Social Factors Determining The Types of Farming

• Family Farming: Family farmers provide food security by cultivating traditional food crops using traditional farming practices using organic methods. They produce approximately 70% of the world’s total food crops to ensure a constant food supply to the population.

• Kitchen Gardening: Though the crops produced by kitchen gardening will not be marketed, they also contribute to food production in some ways. Several fruits or vegetables are grown using this farming technique in the backyard of the house using kitchen wastes and water. The freshness of these home-grown food items with these particular types of farming is incomparable.

• Corporate Farming: These types of farming processes produce food crops for large-scale requirements, especially on lands owned by large companies or business heads. This usually involves higher capital investments and practical implementation of the latest technologies and research findings to maximize production.

• Cooperative Farming: These types of farming techniques foster an environment where farmers can collectively put in their efforts & skills, share their knowledge, and provide support for increasing production and getting better market rates with fewer expenses.

• Contract Farming: Small farmers find contracts of farming on small areas of land owned by others and this is called contract farming. It opens up new marketing opportunities and provides financial support to small farmers.

• Fair Trade Farming: It promotes farming crops using environment-friendly practices. Also, the fair-trade premium ensures that farmers are getting all their required items at a minimum price range. 

It also encourages women to take part in agriculture and helps them in growing their businesses. It is an all-encompassing system to ensure better agricultural productivity and the betterment of society and the environment as a whole.

• Sustainable Agriculture: It refers to farming practices without compromising the requirements of future generations. The main aim is to provide food without harming the environment and natural resources. 

• Agribusiness: It refers to the production and supply of various agricultural and industrial items for human consumption. The focus remains on ensuring food security while boosting the economic growth of a nation in sustainable ways.

• Vertical Farming: It is an excellent farming technique to use space efficiently while reducing water wastage and producing crops throughout the year. In this farming type, crops are grown indoors with the help of LED lights. It does not need pesticides and leads to less soil erosion. Farmers can also save their transportation costs due to residing closer to urban areas.

• Urban Types of Farming: When crops are grown in an urban environment, it is called urban farming. It leads to business growth due to easily accessible markets and leads to less space consumption and food wastage while creating multiple employment opportunities. 

• Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA): This supports the local food system and provides fresh food to the consumers by bridging the gap between them and the farmers so that they can directly hand over the farmed crops to the consumers. 

Types of Farming for The Production of Specialty Crops

• Vineyard Farming: Also known as viticulture, it involves the cultivation of grape vines for industrial usage. Grapes have higher market demands not only for human consumption, but also for other commercial productivity such as making wine, jam, raisins, and a lot more.
• Nursery Farming: It involves processes like germination as well as the colonization of various different types of plants by sowing seedlings. The aim is to maintain the growth of healthy crops while saving time, energy, and human labour. It also improves plant health genetically under the right supervision.

• Horticulture: This is a research-oriented farming process that enhances employment opportunities, higher productivity rates, and better profitability with the production of various food crops which also encourages export earnings from foreign nations.

• Floriculture: It is the process of growing and marketing flowers and other types of ornamental plants such as shrubs, palms, cacti, bamboo, succulents, foliage plants, and a lot more for the industrial production of essential oils and much more. 

• Sericulture: It is the cultivation process of mulberry trees for rearing silkworms to produce silk yarns. Silk proteins are highly important for biopharmaceuticals of the production of sericin, an antioxidant property widely used in the medicinal world. It is a budget-friendly farming option with high market demands.

• Apiculture: It refers to the practice of beekeeping for extracting honey, beeswax, and other commercial items. The rearing of bees is highly beneficial because some bee products are also used as medicines such as their venom and propolis.

• Mushroom Farming: It involves the production of mushrooms that are considered to be brilliant sources of tonics, medicines, and nutrition. 

• Herbs and Spices Farming: This farming type deals with the production of a wide variety of spices and herbs used for cooking, medicines, cosmetics, perfumes, and toiletries, and for using as organic pest control items and improving soil quality by using them as intercrops.

• Bamboo Farming:  The cultivation of bamboo plays a crucial role in economic growth. It can lessen deforestation pressure and absorb 100-400 tonnes of carbon particles per hectare, thus helping the environment. The rapid growth of bamboo also makes it a renewable source with the power to regrow after cultivation. 

• Medicinal Plant Farming:  It refers to the cultivation of plants containing similar qualities to traditional pharmaceutical drugs such as aloe vera, turmeric, pepper, etc. that can provide a good defense against several diseases caused by fungi or insects. 

It offers a number of health benefits while providing economic support to those who cultivate these plants.

Types of Farming & The Increased Agricultural Productivity

There are a lot of different types of farming that can contribute to the stability and security of food supply to the entire nation. Depending on the implementation of the latest technologies and different methods, farmers grow various crops and provide the market with animal-derived items.

Farming and agriculture not only boost economic stability but also the exportation of these farmed items encourages businesses with foreign countries. Farming ensures that there is no food shortage in the country.

However, farming does not involve only the proven or traditional implementation of methods for growing crops. All those crops that are grown in the gardens or homelands are also results of farming. There might not be any certification mentioning the freshness or quality of the crops, but they are a part of organic farming. 

‘The latest research aims to boost crop production and more efficient management of livestock rearing that can meet the higher market demands and at the same time, can be sustainable farming methods so that the natural environmental resources are properly conserved.

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