Collective farming

Many people farm together.

They share the land. They work as a team. This helps them grow food.

Some groups have lived this way for a long time. The Huron people shared much of their land.

The Iroquois also shared land with their clans.

In these groups, women often grew the food. They took care of the land. This helped everyone have enough to eat.

In other places, governments made new rules. They told people they must farm together. This was sometimes very hard for them.

Farming together can change how people live. It can be a way to help a whole village.

Collective farming is when many farmers work together. They run their farms as one big group.

There are two main ways to do this. In a cooperative, the farmers own the land together. In a state farm, the government owns and runs it.

Many groups have used this way for a long time. The Huron people had enough land for everyone. They could use land as long as they farmed it. The Iroquois people also shared land among their clans.

In these groups, women often grew the food. They even had special land for large festivals.

In the 1900s, some governments forced this change. In the Soviet Union, leaders made large farms called kolkhozy.

This was often very hard for people. In Ukraine, many people died from hunger during this time. In Romania, some people found it helpful. It gave them more control over their pay. However, in other places like Hungary, the change was not easy. It took many years to finish these plans.

Collective farming is a way for many people to work the land together. Instead of one person owning a small field, a group runs a large enterprise. There are two main ways this works. In an agricultural cooperative, the members own the farm together. In a state farm, a central government owns and runs the land.

This way of farming changes how people live and work. It can bring people together to share tools and labor. It can also change how much food a whole country produces.

Many different cultures have used shared land for a very long time. The Huron people had a system where they used as much land as they needed. If a family stopped farming a field, that land went back to the community.

The Iroquois had a similar way of sharing. They gave tracts of land to different clans. The Clan Mothers' Council managed this land. They even kept special areas for women to grow food for big festivals. This food was called kěndiǔ'gwǎ'ge' hodi'yěn'tho.

In Imperial Russia, many peasants lived in communities called a mir. The word mir means society or commune. These groups acted like a village government. They divided the land into strips based on how good the soil was. Each family got strips of land based on how many adults lived in their home.

This helped ensure everyone could pay their taxes to the state. The land was given out again after a census to keep things fair.

In the 1900s, some governments used forced collectivization to make large farms. In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin introduced kolkhozy, or collective farms, in the late 1920s. This was a very hard time for many people. In Ukraine, between 1932 and 1933, a terrible famine occurred.

It is estimated that 5.7 to 8.7 million people died during this period. It took until 1940 for food production to reach its old levels.

Other countries also tried these big changes with different results. Romania began its plan in 1948 and finished in 1962. For some people, it helped them gain more control over their wages. In Hungary, the first attempts in 1948 and 1955 failed. It was not until the early 1960s that they finished the process.

These stories show how sharing land can change a society in many ways.

Collective farming is a system of agricultural production where multiple farmers operate their holdings as a joint enterprise. This method moves away from individual farming toward shared management and resources. There are two primary models of communal farming used throughout history. The first is the agricultural cooperative, where member-owners jointly manage farming activities. The second is the state farm, which is owned and directly managed by a centralized government. The process of gathering individual plots of land into these larger units is known as collectivization.

Many indigenous cultures used communal land systems long before modern governments. The Huron people of North America practiced a system of usufruct, meaning they held land only as long as they actively farmed it. If a family abandoned a field, the land reverted to communal ownership for anyone to use. The Iroquois also used a communal system organized by clans. The Clan Mothers' Council managed land distribution and could punish clans that did not care for their assigned tracts. They also reserved specific areas for all women to cultivate food for festivals. This special food was called kěndiǔ"gwǎ'ge' hodi'yěn'tho.

In Mexico, the Aztec Empire used a system called calpulli for local administration. These units consisted of large extended families that owned land collectively. Each family was granted the right to farm specific parts of the land daily. After the Spanish conquest, this was replaced by estates and the encomienda system of overlordship. Later, following the Mexican Revolution of 1917, the government created ejidos. These were communal farms formed from land purchased from large estates. This helped restore communal rights to the people.

Imperial Russia also had a long history of communal living through the mir. The mir, also called an obshchina or Selskoye obshestvo, served as a village government. In these communities, arable land was divided into strips based on soil quality and distance from the village. Each household received strips according to the number of adults in the family. This system was designed to ensure that every household could meet its tax obligations to the state. The government enforced periodic reallocations of land based on census data to maintain equity.

In the 20th century, the Soviet Union implemented forced collectivization under Joseph Stalin. This began in the late 1920s to organize land and labor into large-scale kolkhozy, or collective farms. The goal was to boost production and remove the influence of kulaks, who were independent farmland owners. This process, known as dekulakization, involved the execution or mass deportation of defiant kulaks to Siberia. The results were often devastating. In Ukraine, between 1932 and 1933, a massive famine occurred. It is estimated that between 5.7 and 8.7 million people died. Agricultural production did not return to previous levels until 1940.

Other Eastern European nations followed similar communist blueprints with varying success. Romania began its collectivization in 1948 and finished in 1962. While the process involved violence and social upheaval, it did provide some stability for those who previously owned no land. In Hungary, early attempts in 1948 and 1955 failed due to economic and police pressure. After the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, the government used a more gradual approach. By 1961, over 95% of Hungarian agricultural land belonged to collective farms.

Comparing the efficiency of these systems reveals significant differences. In the Soviet Union, a 1975 report noted that private plots were incredibly productive. These small plots made up less than 1% of the total arable land, or about 20 million acres. However, they produced 27% of the total value of Soviet agricultural produce. This suggests that these small, private areas were roughly 40 times more efficient than the large collective farms. These historical examples show how different methods of managing land can shape the lives, economies, and survival of entire populations.