ARED News

ARED News
Author: United States. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service. Agriculture and Rural Economy Division
Publisher:
Total Pages: 454
Release: 1990
Genre: Agriculture
ISBN:

Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms

Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms
Author: Robert A. Hoppe
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 72
Release: 2010
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1437937004

Most U.S. farms -- 98 percent in 2007 -- are family operations, and even the largest farms are predominantly family run. Large-scale family farms and non-family farms account for 12 percent of U.S. farms but 84 percent of the value of production. In contrast, small family farms make up most of the U.S. farm count but produce a modest share of farm output. Small farms are less profitable than large-scale farms, and their operator households tend to rely on off-farm income for their livelihood. Farm operator households cannot be characterized as low-income when both farm and off-farm income are considered. Nevertheless, limited-resource farms still exist and account for 3 to 12 percent of family farms, depending on how ¿limited-resource¿ is defined. Graphs.