Pastoral farming

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Pastoral farming (also known in some regions as livestock farming or grazing) is farming aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising beef cattle, and raising sheep for wool. In contrast, mixed farming is growing of both crops and livestock on the same farm. Some pastoral farmers grow crops purely as fodder for their livestock; some crop farmers grow fodder and sell it to pastoral farmers.

Pastoral farming is a non-nomadic form of pastoralism in which the livestock farmer has some form of ownership of the land used, giving the farmer more economic incentive to improve the land. Possible improvements include drainage (in wet regions), stock tanks (in dry regions), irrigation and sewing clover.

Pastoral farming is common in Argentina, Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the Western United States, among other places.