Farm vs. Field — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on August 21, 2023
A farm is a dedicated area for agriculture and raising livestock, while a field is a piece of open land, often used for cultivation or specific purposes.
Difference Between Farm and Field
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A farm is an extensive piece of land dedicated to the cultivation of crops, the rearing of animals, or both. It serves as a hub of agricultural activities and typically consists of various structures like barns, silos, and farmhouses. On the other hand, a field is a specific open tract of land that may or may not be part of a farm. It can be used for growing a particular crop or left fallow for a season.
Farm and field both play pivotal roles in agriculture, but their functions are distinct. A farm, as an overarching entity, can house multiple fields, each potentially designated for different crops or uses. In contrast, a field, by definition, is a singular, boundaried open space, usually devoid of infrastructural establishments, primarily used for planting.
Farm operations include a broader range of activities. It encompasses not only the tilling, sowing, and harvesting in the fields but also the management of livestock, equipment maintenance, and potentially, on-site processing of agricultural products. A field is primarily concerned with the cultivation aspect, being the site where the crops grow and mature.
Both farm and field are essential in the context of food production. A farm provides the infrastructure and organization needed for large-scale agriculture. It might include machinery, storage facilities, and areas for livestock. Fields, as segments of a farm or independent patches of land, provide the necessary environment for plants to grow. They represent the ground-level workings of agriculture, where the seeds meet the soil.
While a farm usually represents a commercial venture aiming for profit, a field does not necessarily denote commercial intent. A field can exist in a park, near a residential area, or even as a wild meadow, untamed and untouched by human intervention.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
An area dedicated to agriculture and livestock rearing.
An open piece of land.
Components
May include barns, houses, fields, and machinery.
Typically just land and crops.
Function
Broad agricultural activities and management.
Specifically for cultivation.
Scope
Encompasses multiple aspects of agriculture.
Singular, focused on plant growth.
Commercial Intent
Usually for profit and production.
May or may not have commercial intent.
Compare with Definitions
Farm
A land area dedicated to agriculture and the cultivation of crops.
We visited a farm that grew organic vegetables.
Field
An open tract of land used for cultivation or pasture.
The golden wheat swayed gently in the field.
Farm
An establishment for breeding and raising livestock.
The pig farm was just outside the village.
Field
A particular branch of study or expertise.
He is a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence.
Farm
A place where a specific type of item is produced or grown.
The oyster farm produced the best pearls in the region.
Field
An area in a form or database where specific data is entered.
Please fill in the required field before submitting.
Farm
An area where aquatic species are cultivated.
The fish farm supplies trout to local markets.
Field
A place where a sport or game is played.
The soccer team trained hard on the field.
Farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used for specialized units such as arable farms, vegetable farms, fruit farms, dairy, pig and poultry farms, and land used for the production of natural fiber, biofuel and other commodities.
Field
A portion of land or a geologic formation containing a specified natural resource
A copper field.
Farm
An area of land and its buildings, used for growing crops and rearing animals
A farm of 100 acres
Farm workers
Field
A piece of land prepared for playing a game;
The home crowd cheered when Princeton took the field
Farm
Make one's living by growing crops or keeping livestock
He has farmed organically for years
Field
A broad, level, open expanse of land.
Farm
Send out or subcontract work to others
It saves time and money to farm out some writing work to specialized companies
Field
A cultivated expanse of land, especially one devoted to a particular crop
A field of corn.
Farm
A tract of land cultivated for the purpose of agricultural production.
Field
A place where a battle is fought; also, the battle itself.
In this glorious and well-foughten field.
What though the field be lost?
Farm
A tract of land devoted to the raising and breeding of domestic animals.
Field
Select (a team or individual player) for a game;
The Patriots fielded a young new quarterback for the Rose Bowl
Farm
An area of water devoted to the raising, breeding, or production of a specific aquatic animal
A trout farm.
An oyster farm.
Field
A meadow
Cows grazing in a field.
Farm
A facility for the generation of energy by converting it from a particular source, usually by means of multiple electric generators
A wind farm.
Field
The scene or an area of military operations or maneuvers
Officers in the field.
Farm
A place where a group of similar devices or storage containers are set up
A tank farm.
A server farm.
Field
A background area, as on a flag, painting, or coin
A blue insignia on a field of red.
Farm
To engage in farming.
Field
(Heraldry) The background of a shield or one of the divisions of the background.
Farm
A tract of land held on lease for the purpose of cultivation.
Field
An area or setting of practical activity or application outside an office, school, factory, or laboratory
Biologists working in the field.
A product tested in the field.
Farm
A location used for an industrial purpose, having many similar structures.
Antenna farm; fuel farm; solar farm; wind farm
Field
An area or region where business activities are conducted
Sales representatives in the field.
Farm
(computing) A group of coordinated servers.
A render farm
A server farm
Field
In baseball, the positions on defense or the ability to play defense
She excels in the field.
Farm
The rent of land, - originally paid by reservation of part of its products.
Field
A space, as on an online form or request for information, that accepts the input of text
An address field.
Farm
The term or tenure of a lease of land for cultivation; a leasehold.
It is great willfulness in landlords to make any longer farms to their tenants.
Field
Growing, cultivated, or living in fields or open land.
Farm
The land held under lease and by payment of rent for the purpose of cultivation.
Field
Made, used, or carried on in the field
Field operations.
Farm
Any tract of land devoted to agricultural purposes, under the management of a tenant or the owner.
Field
Working, operating, or active in the field
Field representatives of a firm.
Farm
A district of country leased (or farmed) out for the collection of the revenues of government.
The province was devided into twelve farms.
Field
(Sports) To catch or pick up (a ball) and often make a throw to another player, especially in baseball.
Farm
A lease of the imposts on particular goods; as, the sugar farm, the silk farm.
Whereas G. H. held the farm of sugars upon a rent of 10,000 marks per annum.
Field
To respond to or deal with
Fielded tough questions from the press.
Farm
To devote (land) to agriculture; to cultivate, as land; to till, as a farm.
Field
(Sports) To place in the playing area
Field a team.
Farm
To engage in the business of tilling the soil; to labor as a farmer.
Field
To nominate in an election
Field a candidate.
Farm
Workplace consisting of farm buildings and cultivated land as a unit;
It takes several people to work the farm
Field
To put into action; deploy
Field an army of campaign workers.
Farm
Be a farmer; work as a farmer;
My son is farming in California
Field
Any of various figurative meanings, often dead metaphors.
Farm
Collect fees or profits
Field
(physics) A physical phenomenon (such as force, potential or fluid velocity) that pervades a region; a mathematical model of such a phenomenon that associates each point and time with a scalar, vector or tensor quantity.
Magnetic field; gravitational field; scalar field
Farm
Cultivate by growing, often involving improvements by means of agricultural techniques;
The Bordeaux region produces great red wines
They produce good ham in Parma
We grow wheat here
We raise hogs here
Field
Any of certain structures serving cognition.
Farm
Allow someone to collect and keep the revenues from (a tax) on payment of a fee
The customs had been farmed to the collector for a fixed sum
Field
A physical or virtual location for the input of information in the form of symbols.
Farm
(Baseball) A minor-league club affiliated with a major-league club for the training of recruits and the maintenance of temporarily unneeded players.
Field
Part (usually one half) of a frame in an interlaced signal
Farm
The system of leasing out the rights of collecting and retaining taxes in a certain district.
Field
To intercept or catch (a ball) and play it.
Farm
A district so leased.
Field
To be the team catching and throwing the ball, as opposed to hitting it.
The blue team are fielding first, while the reds are batting.
Farm
To cultivate or produce a crop on (land).
Field
To place a team, its players, etc. in a game.
The away team fielded two new players and the second-choice goalkeeper.
Farm
To cultivate, breed, or raise (plants or animals).
Field
(transitive) To answer; to address.
She will field questions immediately after her presentation.
Farm
To pay a fixed sum in order to have the right to collect and retain profits from (a business, for example).
Field
(transitive) To defeat.
They fielded a fearsome army.
Farm
To turn over (a business, for example) to another in return for the payment of a fixed sum.
Field
(transitive) To execute research (in the field).
He fielded the marketing survey about the upcoming product.
Farm
A place where agricultural and similar activities take place, especially the growing of crops or the raising of livestock.
Field
To deploy in the field.
To field a new land-mine detector
Farm
(obsolete) Food; provisions; a meal.
Field
Cleared land; land suitable for tillage or pasture; cultivated ground; the open country.
Farm
(obsolete) A banquet; feast.
Field
A piece of land of considerable size; esp., a piece inclosed for tillage or pasture.
Fields which promise corn and wine.
Farm
(obsolete) A fixed yearly amount (food, provisions, money, etc.) payable as rent or tax.
Field
An open space; an extent; an expanse.
Without covering, save yon field of stars.
Ask of yonder argent fields above.
Farm
(historical) A fixed yearly sum accepted from a person as a composition for taxes or other moneys which he is empowered to collect; also, a fixed charge imposed on a town, county, etc., in respect of a tax or taxes to be collected within its limits.
Field
The whole surface of an escutcheon; also, so much of it is shown unconcealed by the different bearings upon it. See Illust. of Fess, where the field is represented as gules (red), while the fess is argent (silver).
Farm
(historical) The letting-out of public revenue to a ‘farmer’; the privilege of farming a tax or taxes.
Field
An unresticted or favorable opportunity for action, operation, or achievement; province; room.
Afforded a clear field for moral experiments.
Farm
The body of farmers of public revenues.
Field
A collective term for all the competitors in any outdoor contest or trial, or for all except the favorites in the betting.
Farm
The condition of being let at a fixed rent; lease; a lease.
Field
That part of the grounds reserved for the players which is outside of the diamond; - called also outfield.
Farm
(historical) A baby farm.
Field
To take the field.
Farm
(intransitive) To work on a farm, especially in the growing and harvesting of crops.
Field
To stand out in the field, ready to catch, stop, or throw the ball.
Farm
(transitive) To devote (land) to farming.
Field
To catch, stop, throw, etc. (the ball), as a fielder.
Farm
(transitive) To grow (a particular crop).
Field
A piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed;
He planted a field of wheat
Farm
To give up to another, as an estate, a business, the revenue, etc., on condition of receiving in return a percentage of what it yields; to farm out.
To farm the taxes
Field
A region where a battle is being (or has been) fought;
They made a tour of Civil War battlefields
Farm
To lease or let for an equivalent, e.g. land for a rent; to yield the use of to proceeds.
Field
Somewhere (away from a studio or office or library or laboratory) where practical work is done or data is collected;
Anthropologists do much of their work in the field
Farm
To take at a certain rent or rate.
Field
A branch of knowledge;
In what discipline is his doctorate?
Teachers should be well trained in their subject
Anthropology is the study of human beings
Farm
To engage in grinding (repetitive activity) in a particular area or against specific enemies for a particular drop or item.
Field
The space around a radiating body within which its electromagnetic oscillations can exert force on another similar body not in contact with it
Farm
To cleanse; clean out; put in order; empty; empty out
Farm out the stable and pigsty.
Field
A particular kind of commercial enterprise;
They are outstanding in their field
Farm
To lease or let for an equivalent, as land for a rent; to yield the use of to proceeds.
We are enforced to farm our royal realm.
Field
Extensive tract of level open land;
They emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain
He longed for the fields of his youth
Farm
To give up to another, as an estate, a business, the revenue, etc., on condition of receiving in return a percentage of what it yields; as, to farm the taxes.
To farm their subjects and their duties toward these.
Field
(mathematics) a set of elements such that addition and multiplication are commutative and associative and multiplication is distributive over addition and there are two elements 0 and 1;
The set of all rational numbers is a field
Farm
To take at a certain rent or rate.
Field
A region in which active military operations are in progress;
The army was in the field awaiting action
He served in the Vietnam theater for three years
Farm
A system of devices or machines operating for a particular purpose.
The server farm supports the entire company's data needs.
Field
All of the horses in a particular horse race
Field
All the competitors in a particular contest or sporting event
Field
A geographic region (land or sea) under which something valuable is found;
The diamond fields of South Africa
Field
(computer science) a set of one or more adjacent characters comprising a unit of information
Field
The area that is visible (as through an optical instrument)
Field
A place where planes take off and land
Field
Catch or pick up (balls) in baseball or cricket
Field
Play as a fielder
Field
Answer adequately or successfully;
The lawyer fielded all questions from the press
Field
A region or space with a particular attribute or effect.
The magnet created a strong field around it.
Field
A wide unbroken expanse, as of ice.
Field
A battleground.
Field
(Archaic) A battle.
Field
An area in which an athletic event takes place, especially the area inside or near to a running track, where field events are held.
Field
In baseball, one of the three sections of the outfield
He can hit to any field.
Field
A range, area, or subject of human activity, interest, or knowledge
Several fields of endeavor.
Field
The contestants or participants in a competition or athletic event, especially those other than the favorite or winner.
Field
The body of riders following a pack of hounds in hunting.
Field
The people running in an election for a political office
The field has been reduced to three candidates.
Field
(Mathematics) A set of elements having two operations, designated addition and multiplication, satisfying the conditions that multiplication is distributive over addition, that the set is a group under addition, and that the elements with the exception of the additive identity form a group under multiplication.
Field
(Physics) A physical quantity in a region of space, such as gravitational force or fluid pressure, having a distinct value (scalar, vector, or tensor) at each point.
Field
The usually circular area in which the image is rendered by the lens system of an optical instrument; field of view.
Field
An element of a database record in which one piece of information is stored.
Field
To enter (data) into a field.
Field
To play as a fielder
How well can he field?.
Field
A land area free of woodland, cities, and towns; an area of open country.
There are several species of wild flowers growing in this field.
Field
The open country near or belonging to a town or city.
Field
A wide, open space that is used to grow crops or to hold farm animals, usually enclosed by a fence, hedge or other barrier.
There were some cows grazing in a field.
A crop circle was made in a corn field.
Field
(geology) A region containing a particular mineral.
An oil field; a gold field
Field
An airfield, airport or air base; especially, one with unpaved runways.
Field
A place where competitive matches are carried out.
Field
A place where a battle is fought; a battlefield.
Field
An area reserved for playing a game or race with one’s physical force.
Soccer field
Substitutes are only allowed onto the field after their boots are checked.
Field
A place where competitive matches are carried out with figures, or playing area in a board game or a computer game.
Field
A competitive situation, circumstances in which one faces conflicting moves of rivals.
Field
(metonymically) All of the competitors in any outdoor contest or trial, or all except the favourites in the betting.
This racehorse is the strongest in a weak field.
Field
A particular environment or walk of life;
His social sphere is limited
It was a closed area of employment
He's out of my orbit
Common Curiosities
What constitutes a farm?
A farm is an expanse of land dedicated to agriculture, which may involve the cultivation of crops, rearing of animals, or both, and often includes structures like barns and farmhouses.
Is every field a part of a farm?
No, while fields can be part of farms, they can also exist independently, such as in parks, meadows, or other open spaces.
How does the function of a farm differ from a field?
A farm's function encompasses broader agricultural activities, including livestock management and crop cultivation, while a field's primary function is crop cultivation.
Can a farm exist without fields?
Yes, some farms, like poultry farms or fish farms, may not have traditional fields for cultivation.
Are fields always used for agriculture?
No, fields can serve various purposes, from being a sports ground to being a natural, untouched meadow.
How do the sizes of farms and fields compare?
A farm can be made up of multiple fields, so it can be much larger; however, the size of both farms and fields can vary widely based on their purpose and location.
Do fields only refer to open spaces in rural areas?
No, fields can be found in both urban and rural areas and may have different uses in each setting.
How are farms and fields essential to society?
Farms produce the majority of our food and raw materials, while fields, as components of farms or independent entities, offer space for cultivation, recreation, and other activities.
Is the term 'farm' limited to land-based agriculture?
No, the term 'farm' can also refer to areas where aquatic species are cultivated, like fish farms or oyster farms.
Can the term 'field' be used in non-agricultural contexts?
Yes, 'field' can refer to areas of expertise, spaces on forms, or regions with specific attributes, like magnetic fields.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
