Farm Animals

Farming is the most important occupation in the world. Nearly all the food we eat comes from crops and livestock raised on farms. In the past, the typical American family of the 1700s and 1800s barely raised enough food for themselves. The family raised cattle, chickens, and hogs and grew crops and vegetables. Horses plowed the fields. Since then, scientific advances have made farming increasingly specialized and productive. Today each farmer produces enough food to feed 80 people. Farming has become an important business run by large corporations and is no longer a way of life as it was in the past. Today, smaller private farms provide food diversity and availability.

Across:

3. This strong animal, once used to pull a plow, is now raised mainly for riding.

4. The female bovine is most often raised on a dairy farm.

5. Most of these animals are raised for meat on hog farms.

7. This animal has provided people with milk, meat, and wool since prehistoric times.

9. A domestic one is raised for its meat and fur, for use in scientific research, and as a pet.

Down:

1. These are among the most important animals in the world because they provide both food and clothing.

2. Raising this animal for meat and eggs is a major industry.

6. This waterbird is raised for its meat and for its down (soft feathers).

8. We think of this animal as part of a traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.

Key:

Across: 3. horse; 4. cow; 5. pigs; 7. goat; 9. rabbit

Down: 1. sheep; 2. chicken; 6. goose; 8. turkey