A person who grows crops or raises animals for food or other products, usually on a piece of land called a farm.
From “farm,” which in Middle English meant “fixed payment” or “rent” from Old French “ferme,” from Latin “firma” meaning “fixed agreement.” Over time, “farm” shifted from a financial term to the land itself, and “farmer” became the one working it.
The first “farmers” were literally people involved with leases and fixed payments, not just planting seeds. Language followed the money first, then the soil, reflecting how land and finance have always been tightly linked.
'Farmer' has often been implicitly coded as male in many languages, with women’s agricultural labor labeled as 'helping' or 'farmer’s wife' rather than recognized as farming. This has obscured women’s central roles in food production worldwide.
Use 'farmer' for any person engaged in farming regardless of gender, and avoid defaulting to male pronouns or imagery.
["agricultural worker","grower","producer"]
When discussing agriculture, explicitly acknowledge women farmers and land stewards, especially in smallholder and subsistence contexts where their work is frequently undercounted.
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