Thousands of people enjoy the hobby of farm watching.

Identifying and observing farms and farm activity provides endless joy and can make living in or visiting the countryside even more pleasurable.

Our temperate climate, relatively long growing season, good soils, and easy access to markets make Pennsylvania prime habitat for agriculture.

Also, farms are relatively abundant in Pennsylvania and commonly can be found by watchful observers in both rural and suburban parts of the commonwealth.

A few interesting farm facts: Pennsylvania is the fourth largest milk producing state in the United States, the third largest producer of eggs, the seventh largest producer of nursery and greenhouse products, and the largest producer of mushrooms.

More than 58,000 farms currently operate in Pennsylvania, using 7.7 million acres of land and providing direct livelihood to 79,760 people.

Agriculturally related businesses, such as farm machinery, seed, fertilizer and other input suppliers employ an additional 14,638 people, and food processing firms directly employ an additional 91,393 people.

As we travel about, careful attention to detail is necessary for correct identification of farm type; the number and size of fields, shape and size of buildings, type of machinery, and activities being done, as well as the species of plant and animals present are all helpful clues.

Farm size varies dramatically in Pennsylvania.

More than half the farms (61 percent) have less than $10,000 in annual sales, a level some people consider "hobby" or part-time farms, in part because they generally do not provide enough income by themselves for the farm family to survive.

About 16 percent of Pennsylvania farms have more than $100,000 in annual sales.

These farms account for the vast majority (87 percent) of Pennsylvania's agricultural production.

Generally, only these large farms are able to provide enough income for the farm family to survive.

Off-farm jobs provide important and needed supplemental income on many of the medium-sized farms.

These larger farms most often conform to popular images of "family farms."

The largest incorporated farms, in contrast, are nothing like the "corporate farms" often denigrated in popular culture these farms are incorporated for tax or legal reasons, but most are entirely family owned and run.

The largest farms, those with annual sales over $1 million, account for only 1 percent of all Pennsylvania farms.

But, these 506 farms produced more than 33 percent of all Pennsylvania agricultural production.

Many farming activities are dependent upon season and weather conditions and can be very time sensitive.

During planting or harvest time, for example, the delay of a day or two can affect the value of the crop, costing the farmer hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

This means, as a farm watcher, you may find farmers doing field work very early in the morning or late at night.

Across Pennsylvania, hay and beef farms are the most common type of farm, though dairy and grain farms are also frequently found.

It is also important to note that many individual farms are involved in several different types of agricultural production.

For example, a dairy farm typically will grow hay and corn to feed to their animals or may even have a swine or broiler house to help supplement their farm income.

This can make identification even more difficult.

Even with an excellent guidebook, accurately identifying farms can be a challenging process, particularly for the amateur.

However, Penn State Extension provides a detailed illustrated publication that goes a long way toward building our knowledge and understanding of the vast agriculture economic engine that surrounds us.

Check out The Joy of Farm Watching available for free at pubs.cas.psu.edu/ freepubs/pdfs/ue010.pdf.

Editor's note: John Berry is the Lehigh County 4-H extension educator for Penn State Extension.