The Basic Farming Quiz

By: Lauren Lubas
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
The Basic Farming Quiz
Image: pixdeluxe/E+/Getty Images

About This Quiz

From being able to run their farm equipment to knowing when it's the right time to plant, America's farmers know so much about working their land and raising animals that they almost have a sixth sense for the industry. They pass this information down to their children to take the generational knowledge and apply that to running their own farms while they learn how to deal with new challenges like droughts and odd weather phenomena. Farmers are more than grandiose gardeners; they are walking encyclopedias for cultivation. However, you don't have to be a farmer or know everything there is to know about farming to pass this quiz (although, it does help). We just want to find out if you have what it takes to start your first day on the farm. 

In this quiz, we're going to ask you how certain farming equipment is used, what you need to do in situations that happen almost exclusively on the farm, what animals are raised for what purposes, and so much more. So, if you think that you have what it takes to hit the country and cultivate the land, try answering these questions to see if you're truly ready for your first day on the farm.

If you want to work on a farm, you have to know the basics. Which of these is not a crop?
Corn
Dogs
Soy
Wheat
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Crops are generally considered to be plants or fruits that are grown and sold as food. However, in some definitions, animals that are sold for butchering can be considered crops as well.

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At what point can a cow produce milk?
Once it has given birth
Once it comes of age
When it is 6 months old
When it gets its spots
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

We don't often think about dairy cows as mothers, but when you consider that most mammals cannot produce milk until they are pregnant or have a child, it all makes much more sense.

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Why do farmers allow cats to live in their barns?
They smell good.
They can sell them.
Cats keep mice away.
Cats don't belong in houses.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

One of the best forms of pest control is the natural order of things. Cats like to chase mice, and farmers hate to have mice in their barns. This symbiotic relationship has been around since farming started.

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Do you know what horse and cow waste is called?
Corn
Hay
Film
Manure
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Cow and horse manure have a lot of great uses. They can both be used for composting and fertilizing the ground that people farm on. They are excellent for growing plants because both cows and horses are herbivores.

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How is a farm measured (in size)?
Miles
Acres
Inches
Crops
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

An acre is a portion of land measured by square footage rather than distance. One acre is equivalent to 43,560 square feet. The largest farm in the United States boasts 2.2 million acres.

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Do you know how hay is packaged?
In squares
In bales
In sticks
In cubes
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The rectangular bale of hay that you might be used to from pumpkin patches is usually around 70 to 100 pounds. However, the large rolled bales of hay that you see in fields can weigh up to 1,500 pounds.

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What is another name for the houses that chickens live in?
Coop
Barn
Mill
Fill
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Chicken coops come in all different shapes and sizes. On large chicken farms, you might see a coop that looks like a small building, but on smaller farms, they might look like a greenhouse for animals.

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Can you remember the name for a baby pig?
Pigling
Piglet
Sucker
Sow
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A sow is an adult female pig. One sow can have up to ten piglets in a single litter. Additionally, a sow can give birth to two litters a year, meaning a single cow can produce twenty cows in one year alone.

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When horses are turned down, where do they normally sleep?
In the house
In the barn
On the roof
In stables
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Like chicken coops, horse stables come in different shapes and sizes. Depending on what kind of farm the horses are on and how many horses there are, many of these stables have arenas for the horses to exercise in when the weather doesn't cooperate.

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Mulch is used for a lot of gardening and landscaping projects, but what is it used for on the farm?
It helps soil retain moisture
It is pretty
It keeps the ants away
It fertilizes the ground
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

At the end of harvest season, farmers will put natural mulches into the soil (including hay, manure and straw). This prevents the soil from drying out too bad before the next planting season begins.

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If you are told to feed the pigs, what will you most likely be feeding them?
Bacon
Slop
Mud
Dog bones
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Some people think that pig slop is every edible waste from a farmer's kitchen. However, even though pigs are omnivores, they usually eat vegetables, fruits and maybe some fish. They're technically pescatarians.

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Do you know what a pig generally eats from?
Bowl
The ground
Trough
Hole
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A trough is basically a long, skinny bathtub that can be filled with something for animals to eat or drink out of. Feeding troughs and watering troughs are not an uncommon sight on farms that have a lot of animals.

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What is the term used when it is time to take the plants out of the ground to sell them?
Pickage
Grow
The reckoning
Harvest
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Every different crop has a slightly different harvest season. For most of the starchy crops in the United States (corn, squash, pumpkin, etc), the harvest season usually lands in the fall.

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A baby horse is known as a what?
Pony
Foal
Mane
Little rider
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While a lot of people mistake a pony for a baby horse, ponies are actually just smaller horses. A baby horse is known as a foal until it reaches one year of age. After that, it is called a horse. A pony is always known as a pony.

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Can you remember what part of the cow the milk comes out of?
Tail
Mouth
Udder
Sternum
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While many of us don't think about it, taking care of a dairy cow's udders is essential to the production of untainted milk. Additionally, a cow's udders can chafe, so it's important to keep them balmed up.

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What do you call a man-made water supply to crops?
Irrigation
Splashation
Welling
Trenching
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Signs of irrigation go back to 3100 BC in Egypt. Using man-made dams and canals to divert waters toward the crops gave early civilizations an edge on food production, and these methods are still used today.

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Corn is a very popular crop in the United States. Do you know how many different kinds of corn there are?
6
56
55
26
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Different types of corn include flint, flour, dent, pop, sweet and waxy. As you may have guessed, flour corn is how corn flour is made, and it is generally grown in South America.

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When are you most likely to see a scarecrow in the field?
Immediately after seeds are planted
During harvest season
After the harvest
In Juy
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The concept of the scarecrow is not what you see in Halloween movies. As a matter of fact, scarecrows are more common around planting season because the fresh seeds in the ground are much more vulnerable than fully grown plants.

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There are a lot of farm terms you should know if you want to work on a farm. Do you know what a male donkey is called?
A Jack
A Jill
A Joe
A Jim
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While male donkeys are called jacks, female donkeys are called jennys. For some reason, they aren't called jills ... we feel like they missed something here. A donkey that is under one year old (no matter what gender) is known as a foal.

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Where is hay grown?
An acreage
A meadow
A whippur
A builder
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You may know a meadow as a pasture, field or paddock. However, all of these places are great for growing hay and allowing large herbivorous animals to graze because hay grows so fast.

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If horses and pigs have names for their young, so do chickens. What is the name of a baby female chicken?
Flap
Jack
Pullet
Map
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Pullet is the term used for young female hens. This one isn't necessarily common knowledge, as most people think that baby chickens are known as chicks. If you want to be more specific, however, you would call it a pullet.

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What is an apple tree farm actually called?
Applet
Tree farm
Fall farm
Orchard
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Orchards are basically farms where fruit trees are grown and harvested. There are different times of year when different apples are best for picking, but some think that apples are only to be harvested in October for some reason.

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Do you know what a grain cart is used for?
Tilling fields
Collecting grain
Spreading seeds
Siphoning water
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

During the harvest, a grain cart is pulled behind a tractor. The tractor pulls the grains out of the ground and pours them into the grain cart. One grain cart can hold up to 1,000 bushels of grain at a time.

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Farmers do a lot of important things before planting. Do you know why farmers plow their fields?
To add nutrients to the soil
To make perfect rows
To find loose seeds
To distribute seeds
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Plowing fields is basically folding the earth over on itself. This helps the decomposition process. As things decompose in the fields, additional nutrients are added to the soil to help with plant growth.

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If you are cleaning horse waste out of the stall, what are you doing?
Chucking
Lucking
Mucking
Haying
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Owning a horse is a lot of work. It requires you to clean up after the animal. It is important to remember that horses go to the bathroom a lot, and that means that their stalls need to be mucked at least once a day.

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Do you know about how many pounds of cheese a dairy cow can produce in a single day?
10.5 pounds
80 pounds
20.25 pounds
30.75 pounds
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It doesn't all have to be cheese, however. In a single day, a dairy cow can produce enough milk to make 10.5 pounds of cheese. It doesn't seem like a whole lot, but when you consider the fact that the United States has nearly 9.5 million dairy cows, you're talking some major cheese.

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What would you call a young bird that is being raised for food?
Yum
Nesters
Young ones
Poult
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Poult, like poultry, includes chickens, turkeys and pheasants, along with any other fowl that people might be interested in eating. While they don't smell terrific when they're in the coop, they certainly smell amazing on Thanksgiving.

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There are several different kinds of attachments for tractors. Do you know what a seed drill is used for?
They pull seeds from the ground
They extract seeds from plants
They fertilize plants
They insert seeds into the ground
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This nifty contraption works in the same way that your finger works for your garden. You press into the earth, put the seed down, and cover it. The seed drill does this but on a much larger scale without disturbing the ground.

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The sickle is the same shape as a common punctuation mark. Which punctuation mark does it resemble?
Question mark
Exclamation point
Semicolon
Colon
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sickles are smaller than scythes. These handheld grass cutting tools were very popular before mechanical farm tools and machines were easy to come by. They were useful for small patches of large brush.

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What is a large group of cows known as?
Murder
Filler
Beefers
Cattle
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Cattle thrive in warm, wet climates, but they can also do well in colder climates. The American Midwest makes for the perfect cattle country, as it has luscious fields for the cows to graze on.

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Which feed grain is the most widely produced in the United States?
Whey
Wheat
Corn
Oat
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Corn is a very versatile crop, and it is grown throughout the United States. However, the top corn producing states are Illinois and Iowa. These states are relatively flat and receive a lot of rainfall.

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Do you know why crop rotation is so important?
It keeps the soil wet
It keeps the soil fertile
It makes the soil dry
It makes the soil smell better
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Each plant takes different nutrients out of the ground, and if the same crops are planted every year, the same nutrients are taken from the soil. However, with crop rotation, different nutrients are taken out of the soil each year, allowing them to replenish every year.

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What national organization is dedicated to the children of farmers?
AHA
BAC
CHA
FFA
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Future Farmers of America is an American youth organization that specifically helps young children understand the importance of farming and the different techniques that are involved with farming.

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Do you know what GMO stands for?
Generically melted opals
Genetically modified organism
Generally moronic ovals
Gerard Milton Orlando
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

How do you make a corn plant resistant to the frost? Simply add some fish DNA. It works, and according to some sources, it doesn't hurt the food at all. With conflicting positions on GMOs, the debate is still heated.

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Which one of these is NOT something that corn is used for?
Feeding animals
Making wood
Ethanol
Making plastic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Bio-based plastics do have elements of corn in them. However, for the most part, corn is used in sweeteners and as a side dish on our dinner tables. With six types of corn, the possibilities generally end at wood.

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