This paper presents the results of an economic, social and cultural study relating to family farms in two cooperatives: Feiraco in Galicia, Spain and Drinagh, County Cork in Ireland. The research is focused mainly on the production and analysis of the results of a specialized survey that dealt with the social, economic, technological and cultural characteristics of dairy farms located in the two cooperatives; one covering several western municipalities of Galicia and the other in West County Cork in Ireland (figure 1). We attempt to produce a brief comparative diagnosis of the changes and continuities cooperative family farming has experienced given that farm censuses statistics systematically ignore the social and cultural contexts of families that live and work on the land. Our intention is to stress the idea that family farming in Galicia is a cultural expression and a life-style that goes beyond capitalist industrial farming. It is a type of farming that has both negative and positive characteristics.