How Do Farm Animals Help Us And What Is Their Use?

There are many farm animals in the world, so how can those animals help us people, and what is their use? These are the questions we will give you answers in this article.

Farm animals, such as cows, sheep, goats, and chickens, have many roles in the ecosystem. They eat corn and hay grown on the farm, they provide milk, eggs, wool, and meat for humans, and their waste can fertilize the soil. Animal manure contains many nutrients that plants can use to grow.

There are so many animals that can live on a farm so it is not easy to list them all, but we will mention some of the most common ones, how they help us people, and what are their uses.

How Do Farm Animals Help Us And What Is Their Use On Farm?

We have a lot of great benefits from having farm animals, and here we will list just a few of the main ones.

• Meat production
• Milk production
• Egg production
• Companionship
• Income generation

Meat production

The global demand for meat is growing day by day. In order to satisfy needs, meat production would have to increase by half of the current one by 2050, that is it would have to increase from the current 300 million tons to 470 million tons. This is the conclusion of the Association for Environmental Protection and Nature of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, which was published in the latest edition of the annual report on meat consumption – Meat Atlas.

So as you can see, animals that produce meat are by far the most used animals on farms.

Some of the best farm animals for meat production are cattle, poultry, sheep/mutton, goat, and piggs.

Milk production

Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product.

Although any mammal can produce milk, commercial dairy farms are typically one-species enterprises. In developed countries, dairy farms typically consist of high producing dairy cows. Other species used in commercial dairy farming include goats, sheep, and camels. In Italy, donkey dairies are growing in popularity to produce an alternative milk source for human infants.

Egg production

Eggs are laid by female animals of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, a few mammals, and fish, and many of these have been eaten by humans for thousands of years.

Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen (egg white), and vitellus (egg yolk), contained within various thin membranes. The most commonly consumed eggs are chicken eggs. Other poultry eggs including those of duck and quail also are eaten. Fish eggs are called roe and caviar.

If you are interested in starting a poultry farming we have an article about everything you need to know about it.

Companionship

A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person’s company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal.

Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, and relatable personalities, but some pets may be taken in on an altruistic basis (such as a stray animal) and accepted by the owner regardless of these characteristics.

Two of the most popular pets are dogs and cats. Other animals commonly kept on farms include rabbits; ferrets; pigs; rodents, such as gerbils, hamsters, chinchillas, rats, mice, and guinea pigs; avian pets, such as parrots, passerines, and fowls; reptile pets, such as turtles, alligators, crocodiles, lizards, and snakes; aquatic pets, such as fish, freshwater and saltwater snails, amphibians like frogs and salamanders; and arthropod pets, such as tarantulas and hermit crabs. Small pets may be grouped together as pocket pets, while the equine and bovine groups include the largest companion animals.

They can be useful on farms in many ways, not only for keeping you company.

Cats kill mice and rats that interfere with the vegetables you’re growing. Dogs herd the animals, protect them from predators, and help with the hunting.

Income generation

Almost all farm animals can generate some sort of income.

Given your location, competition in the area and conditions, you have to decide what kind of animals are best for generating your income and in that way be useful to you.

To help you with that, we have an article about the 10 most profitable livestock to raise.

Conclusion

So, as you can see, there are many benefits of having farm animals, and they can help you a lot with many aspects of your life and your farm.

Which ones you will choose depends mostly on you, what research you make, what direction you are willing to go with them – will you use them for your consumption, for generating income, or something else – and how big a farm are you planning to have.

There are many ways farm animals are useful, from the cats that keep rats out of feed storage sheds, to dogs that keep fox and other mean critters out of the hen house.

Chickens and other poultry are used to produce eggs and meat, and also to clean around the place, pulling up weeds and eating almost anything in their path. In previous generations, they also contributed feathers and down to make soft pillows and warm blankets.

Goats and cows give milk, for a number of foods like cheese, they also can be slaughtered for meat, and their hides have value if the farmer chooses to preserve them.

An interesting animal/fowl that is very useful on a rural homestead is the guinea fowl. If you are busy and don’t notice a stranger approaching, these nosy birds will let you know when anyone comes on your land. They can produce a cacophony of rackets that will stir everyone up.

Hogs are good for getting rid of waste vegetables and along with goats, are pretty good at rooting out underbrush and overgrown areas by eating almost anything in their path.

Most farm animals have a purpose, whether food, clothing, or protection. Farms are often lean operations, and keeping a bunch of hungry animals around simply for companionship sounds nice, but is often not the reality.