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Farm vs. Plantation — What's the Difference?

By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on September 7, 2023
A farm is a tract of land used for agriculture to produce a variety of crops and raise animals. A plantation is a large estate primarily devoted to a single cash crop, often requiring intensive labor.
Farm vs. Plantation — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Farm and Plantation

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Key Differences

A farm is a piece of land used for agricultural purposes, which can include the cultivation of various crops and the raising of animals. Plantations, on the other hand, are large agricultural estates that typically focus on the mass production of a single type of crop, like cotton, sugarcane, or rubber.
Farm sizes can vary from small family-owned plots to larger commercial operations. Plantations are generally larger and more specialized, often requiring significant labor and specialized equipment for mass production. Farms tend to be more versatile, allowing for crop rotation and diversified agriculture.
The term "farm" is widely used and can apply to different kinds of agricultural practices, from dairy farming to crop cultivation. Plantations, however, are more specialized, and their main purpose is often the production of cash crops for sale on a large scale. Plantations may have historical connections to slave labor, especially in the American South, making the term sensitive in some contexts.
While farms often produce food for local consumption and may be family-owned, plantations are more likely to be part of larger corporate systems or owned by entities that specialize in large-scale agricultural production. Both terms imply agricultural activity, but their scale, specialization, and historical contexts set them apart.

Comparison Chart

Definition

Versatile agricultural land
Specialized estate for one crop
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Size

Can be small to large
Generally large

Specialization

Multiple crops and animals
Single cash crop

Ownership

Family or corporate
Often corporate

Historical

Broad application
Often connected to slave labor

Compare with Definitions

Farm

A tract of land for raising crops and livestock.
The farm produces both corn and cattle.

Plantation

A large estate for producing a single cash crop.
The sugar plantation produces tons of sugarcane.

Farm

A place for raising specialty products like mushrooms.
The mushroom farm is in a controlled environment.

Plantation

Historically linked to slave labor in the American South.
The plantation was established in the 18th century.

Farm

A term for a system of raising data, as in server farm.
The server farm hosts multiple websites.

Plantation

Often part of larger corporate agricultural systems.
The rubber plantation is owned by a multinational company.

Farm

An area dedicated to renewable energy sources, like wind or solar.
The wind farm is spread over 100 acres.

Plantation

Usually situated in tropical or subtropical climates.
The tea plantation requires specific climatic conditions.

Farm

An establishment for aquaculture.
The fish farm is located by the river.

Plantation

An organized agricultural operation often requiring intensive labor.
The cotton plantation employed hundreds of workers.

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.

Plantation

A plantation is a large-scale estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops. The crops that are grown include cotton, coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar cane, opium, sisal, oil seeds, oil palms, fruits, rubber trees and forest trees.

Farm

An area of land and its buildings, used for growing crops and rearing animals
A farm of 100 acres
Farm workers

Plantation

An estate on which crops such as coffee, sugar, and tobacco are grown.

Farm

Make one's living by growing crops or keeping livestock
He has farmed organically for years

Plantation

Colonization or settlement of emigrants, especially of English and then Scottish families in Ireland in the 16th–17th centuries under government sponsorship
The Plantation of Ulster

Farm

Send out or subcontract work to others
It saves time and money to farm out some writing work to specialized companies

Plantation

An area under cultivation.

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

Plantation

A group of cultivated trees or plants.

Farm

A tract of land cultivated for the purpose of agricultural production.

Plantation

A large estate or farm on which crops are raised, often by resident workers.

Farm

A tract of land devoted to the raising and breeding of domestic animals.

Plantation

A newly established settlement; a colony.

Farm

An area of water devoted to the raising, breeding, or production of a specific aquatic animal
A trout farm.
An oyster farm.

Plantation

A large farm; estate or area of land designated for agricultural growth. Often includes housing for the owner and workers.

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.

Plantation

An area where trees are planted, either for commercial purposes, or to adorn an estate.

Farm

A place where a group of similar devices or storage containers are set up
A tank farm.
A server farm.

Plantation

(historical) The importation of large numbers of workers and soldiers to displace the local population, such as in medieval Ireland and in the Americas; colonization.

Farm

(Baseball) A minor-league club affiliated with a major-league club for the training of recruits and the maintenance of temporarily unneeded players.

Plantation

(historical) A colony established thus.
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (former official name of Rhode Island, United States)

Farm

The system of leasing out the rights of collecting and retaining taxes in a certain district.

Plantation

The act or practice of planting, or setting in the earth for growth.

Farm

A district so leased.

Plantation

The place planted; land brought under cultivation; a piece of ground planted with trees or useful plants; esp., in the United States and West Indies, a large estate appropriated to the production of the more important crops, and cultivated by laborers who live on the estate; as, a cotton plantation; a coffee plantation.

Farm

To cultivate or produce a crop on (land).

Plantation

An original settlement in a new country; a colony.
While these plantations were forming in Connecticut.

Farm

To cultivate, breed, or raise (plants or animals).

Plantation

An estate where cash crops are grown on a large scale (especially in tropical areas)

Farm

To pay a fixed sum in order to have the right to collect and retain profits from (a business, for example).

Plantation

A newly established colony (especially in the colonization of North America);
The practice of sending convicted criminals to serve on the Plantations was common in the 17th century

Farm

To turn over (a business, for example) to another in return for the payment of a fixed sum.

Plantation

Garden consisting of a small cultivated wood without undergrowth

Farm

To engage in farming.

Farm

A place where agricultural and similar activities take place, especially the growing of crops or the raising of livestock.

Farm

A tract of land held on lease for the purpose of cultivation.

Farm

A location used for an industrial purpose, having many similar structures.
Antenna farm; fuel farm; solar farm; wind farm

Farm

(computing) A group of coordinated servers.
A render farm
A server farm

Farm

(obsolete) Food; provisions; a meal.

Farm

(obsolete) A banquet; feast.

Farm

(obsolete) A fixed yearly amount (food, provisions, money, etc.) payable as rent or tax.

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.

Farm

(historical) The letting-out of public revenue to a ‘farmer’; the privilege of farming a tax or taxes.

Farm

The body of farmers of public revenues.

Farm

The condition of being let at a fixed rent; lease; a lease.

Farm

(historical) A baby farm.

Farm

(intransitive) To work on a farm, especially in the growing and harvesting of crops.

Farm

(transitive) To devote (land) to farming.

Farm

(transitive) To grow (a particular crop).

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

Farm

To lease or let for an equivalent, e.g. land for a rent; to yield the use of to proceeds.

Farm

To take at a certain rent or rate.

Farm

To engage in grinding (repetitive activity) in a particular area or against specific enemies for a particular drop or item.

Farm

To cleanse; clean out; put in order; empty; empty out
Farm out the stable and pigsty.

Farm

The rent of land, - originally paid by reservation of part of its products.

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.

Farm

The land held under lease and by payment of rent for the purpose of cultivation.

Farm

Any tract of land devoted to agricultural purposes, under the management of a tenant or the owner.

Farm

A district of country leased (or farmed) out for the collection of the revenues of government.
The province was devided into twelve farms.

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.

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.

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.

Farm

To take at a certain rent or rate.

Farm

To devote (land) to agriculture; to cultivate, as land; to till, as a farm.

Farm

To engage in the business of tilling the soil; to labor as a farmer.

Farm

Workplace consisting of farm buildings and cultivated land as a unit;
It takes several people to work the farm

Farm

Be a farmer; work as a farmer;
My son is farming in California

Farm

Collect fees or profits

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

Common Curiosities

Can a farm produce multiple crops?

Yes, farms often grow multiple types of crops and animals.

Are plantations always large?

Generally, plantations are larger and more specialized.

Who owns plantations?

Plantations are often owned by corporations or large entities.

What is a plantation?

A plantation is a large estate focused on a single cash crop.

Do plantations focus on one crop?

Typically, plantations focus on mass-producing a single crop.

Do plantations require intensive labor?

Generally, plantations require more labor due to the scale of operation.

What is a farm?

A farm is land used for diverse agricultural activities.

Can a farm be small?

Yes, farms can range from small plots to large operations.

Is a farm for local consumption?

Often, farms supply local markets but can also produce for wider distribution.

Is a plantation for mass production?

Yes, plantations aim for mass production of cash crops.

Who owns farms?

Farms can be family-owned or part of larger corporations.

Can you have a fish farm?

Yes, aquaculture establishments are commonly referred to as fish farms.

Can the term farm apply to technology?

Yes, terms like "server farm" apply to collections of servers for data storage and management.

Are there modern-day plantations?

Yes, there are modern plantations, often part of larger corporate systems.

Do farms have a historical link to slavery?

Farms can vary in historical context, whereas plantations often have specific historical ties to slavery.

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Author Spotlight

Written by
Tayyaba Rehman
Tayyaba 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.

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