3 ms·

50 cattle sounds like a large farm? Are there technical breakdowns on sizes?

by taeric 3y ago

danaris 3y ago
50 cattle is definitely not a large farm. I'm not sure what you're thinking would count as "small".
- taeric 3y ago
  That is why I'm asking? A quick search shows that would need about 50 acres of land? That is pretty a pretty large amount of land. What is a "small" farm?
  - defrost 3y ago
    It varies by country and agricultural use type (primarily cattle, mainly grain, etc.) Where I am, the grain district of Western Australia: ALMOST two-thirds of the farming population in the agricultural area of Western Australia live on farms of 1,000 acres or more in size. and The average farm size in WA is approximately 4500 hectares (11,000 acres). https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3818&context=journal_agriculture4 https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=... https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/Grain%20producing%20capacity.docx https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/Grain%20prod... Both those statements are true, most farms are greater than 1K acres, and the average size of a grain farm is 11,000 acres. My neighbour shoots ULR targets at 5,000 yards across his property. Most of the grain growing here is family dynasty type ownership. Cattle stations get much much bigger.
    - taeric 3y ago
      I wouldn't consider those numbers small, though? That is nearly the size of the city I live in. Not saying you are wrong. Just acknowledging the numbers. This feels like calling Amazon a small business, because it isn't Walmart.
      - bryanlarsen 3y ago
        The standard measure would be number of employees, wouldn't it? 50 beef cattle is hobby farm size. It wouldn't provide enough revenue to support a family. We needed grains, oilseeds, pigs and chickens in addition to the 50 beef cattle to support ours. 11,000 acres in Saskatchewan (and presumably Australia) is family farm size. It will have 0 or 1 employees.
        taeric 3y ago
        Why is that the standard measure? By that rubric, an overwhelming number of small businesses can't support families. Certainly without a lot of supplemental income. I'm ok with the definition that most farms just aren't small. Certainly ok with the idea that a small farm is still giant compared to any other "small" business. But I find it odd that Clarkson's Farm, a show many are probably familiar with today, is literally 1/10 the size of what you are calling a small farm. Is that just a tiny farm? Edit: Finally tried clicking around your links, I think you messed up the WA one. At any rate, I see a "small" farm is designated by revenue of about 28k. https://cms.agr.wa.gov/WSDAKentico/Imported/641-WSDAAgInfographic-WEB.pdf?_gl=1*1kpv6a2*_ga*MTIxMTkzMTcxNy4xNjkwNTY1NzQ5*_ga_9JCK8SVQPE*MTY5Mzg2OTQyNC4xLjEuMTY5Mzg2OTU2Mi4wLjAuMA https://cms.agr.wa.gov/WSDAKentico/Imported/641-WSDAAgInfogr..... shows that "63% of farms are less than 50 acres" So, I can see how your average number can work, as that is how statistics work. That said, most farms are clearly not 11k acres. Edit2: Annoyingly, that link I put up indicates the "small" revenue is 250k. It was an exemption of some sort that I closed the link on that indicated 28.
        bryanlarsen 3y ago
        Because size is irrelevant. A 1 acre greenhouse can produce more calories and imcome than a 10,000 acre dryland farm. And all real farms have at least 6 figures of revenue. They also have at least 6 figures of expenses. A small combine harvester costs $500,000, for example.
        taeric 3y ago

50 cattle sounds like a large farm? Are there technical breakdowns on sizes?

by taeric 3y ago

50 cattle sounds like a large farm? Are there technical breakdowns on sizes?

danaris 3y ago

50 cattle is definitely not a large farm. I'm not sure what you're thinking would count as "small".

taeric 3y ago
That is why I'm asking? A quick search shows that would need about 50 acres of land? That is pretty a pretty large amount of land. What is a "small" farm?
- defrost 3y ago
  It varies by country and agricultural use type (primarily cattle, mainly grain, etc.) Where I am, the grain district of Western Australia: ALMOST two-thirds of the farming population in the agricultural area of Western Australia live on farms of 1,000 acres or more in size. and The average farm size in WA is approximately 4500 hectares (11,000 acres). https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3818&context=journal_agriculture4 https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=... https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/Grain%20producing%20capacity.docx https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/Grain%20prod... Both those statements are true, most farms are greater than 1K acres, and the average size of a grain farm is 11,000 acres. My neighbour shoots ULR targets at 5,000 yards across his property. Most of the grain growing here is family dynasty type ownership. Cattle stations get much much bigger.
  - taeric 3y ago
    I wouldn't consider those numbers small, though? That is nearly the size of the city I live in. Not saying you are wrong. Just acknowledging the numbers. This feels like calling Amazon a small business, because it isn't Walmart.
    - bryanlarsen 3y ago
      The standard measure would be number of employees, wouldn't it? 50 beef cattle is hobby farm size. It wouldn't provide enough revenue to support a family. We needed grains, oilseeds, pigs and chickens in addition to the 50 beef cattle to support ours. 11,000 acres in Saskatchewan (and presumably Australia) is family farm size. It will have 0 or 1 employees.
      - taeric 3y ago
        Why is that the standard measure? By that rubric, an overwhelming number of small businesses can't support families. Certainly without a lot of supplemental income. I'm ok with the definition that most farms just aren't small. Certainly ok with the idea that a small farm is still giant compared to any other "small" business. But I find it odd that Clarkson's Farm, a show many are probably familiar with today, is literally 1/10 the size of what you are calling a small farm. Is that just a tiny farm? Edit: Finally tried clicking around your links, I think you messed up the WA one. At any rate, I see a "small" farm is designated by revenue of about 28k. https://cms.agr.wa.gov/WSDAKentico/Imported/641-WSDAAgInfographic-WEB.pdf?_gl=1*1kpv6a2*_ga*MTIxMTkzMTcxNy4xNjkwNTY1NzQ5*_ga_9JCK8SVQPE*MTY5Mzg2OTQyNC4xLjEuMTY5Mzg2OTU2Mi4wLjAuMA https://cms.agr.wa.gov/WSDAKentico/Imported/641-WSDAAgInfogr..... shows that "63% of farms are less than 50 acres" So, I can see how your average number can work, as that is how statistics work. That said, most farms are clearly not 11k acres. Edit2: Annoyingly, that link I put up indicates the "small" revenue is 250k. It was an exemption of some sort that I closed the link on that indicated 28.
        bryanlarsen 3y ago
        Because size is irrelevant. A 1 acre greenhouse can produce more calories and imcome than a 10,000 acre dryland farm. And all real farms have at least 6 figures of revenue. They also have at least 6 figures of expenses. A small combine harvester costs $500,000, for example.
        taeric 3y ago