A farm is a piece of land where people grow crops or raise animals for food. Farms might have fields of corn stretching to the horizon, orchards full of apple trees, vegetable gardens bursting with tomatoes and lettuce, or pastures where cattle graze. Some farms raise chickens for eggs, keep dairy cows for milk, or tend sheep for wool.

Running a farm requires knowledge, hard work, and careful planning. Farmers must understand their soil, know when to plant and harvest, manage water carefully, and keep their animals healthy. They work with the rhythms of nature: planting in spring, tending crops through summer, harvesting in fall, and preparing for the next season through winter.

The word can also be used as a verb. When you farm the land, you're actively working it to produce food. People have farmed for about 10,000 years, ever since humans first learned to plant seeds and domesticate animals instead of hunting and gathering. This invention transformed human civilization, allowing people to settle in one place and build towns and cities.

Today's farms range from small family operations selling vegetables at farmers markets to massive operations that help feed millions of people. Without farms and the people who work them, grocery stores would have empty shelves.