A farmstead refers to the buildings and service areas associated with a farm. It consists of a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

belonging to a

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 fo ...

along with the surrounding buildings. The characteristics of a specific farmstead reflect the local landscape, which provides their environmental context. Some farmsteads have additional outlying field barns and outfarms somewhat further afield than the main cluster of buildings at the farmstead.

Functions of the farmstead

The functions of farmsteads have changed over time. These functions include: * Residential accommodation for workers whether in a

farmhouse FarmHouse (FH) is a men's social fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 34 active chapters in the United States and Canada.FarmHouse Fraternity New Memb ...

, the upper floors of other buildings or separate cottages * Storage of

crops A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same species a ...

produced on the farm * Process such crops for use in subsequent stages in agricultural or industrial uses * Shelter for draft animals and

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

* Management of livestock and the storage of their

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food ...

* Production and storage of manure to fertilise the fields; * Production of animal products such as

dairy products Dairy products or milk products are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as y ...

* Storage of farm vehicles and implements * Other production suited to the particularities of the farm.

References

Rural culture Agricultural buildings {{Agriculture-stub