Family farms dominate ag landscape

WASHINGTON — Family-owned farms continue to account for an overwhelming majority of U.S. agricultural production.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service recently released its Farm Typology Report that focuses on the “family farm.” The report was developed analyzing from the 2017 Census of Agriculture.

Family-owned farms comprised 96% of all U.S. farms, account for 87% of land in farms and 82% of the value of all agricultural products sold, the report found.

“Family farm” in the report is defined as any farm where the majority of the business is owned by the producer and individuals related to the producer.

The report classifies all farms into unique categories based on two criteria: who owns the operation and gross cash farm income. GCFI includes the producer’s sales of crops and livestock, fees for delivering commodities under production contracts, government payments and farm-related income.

“Classifying America’s 2 million farms to better reflect their diversity is critical to evaluating and reporting on U.S. agriculture,” said NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer. “Typology allows us to more meaningfully explore the demographics of who is farming and ranching today, as well as their impact on the economy and communities around the country.”

The data show that small family farms — those farms with a GCFI of less than $350,000 per year — account for 88% of all U.S. farms, 46% of total land in farms and 19% of the value of all agricultural products sold.

Large-scale family farms with GCFI of $1 million or more make up less than 3% of all U.S. farms, but produce 43% of the value of all agricultural products.

Mid-size farms with GCFI between $350,000 and $999,999 are 5% of U.S. farms and produce 20% of the value of all agricultural products.

The data also show that the number of family farms decreased by 4% — almost 80,000 farms — since 2012. Large and mid-size family farms experienced steeper declines, decreasing 13% and 8%, respectively. Small family farms experienced a smaller decline at 3%.

Illinois

The Prairie State has 72,651 farms — 94.4% family operated — across 27,006,288 acres. The average farm size is 372 acres. The largest “farm by size” category is 17,901 farms in the 10 to 49 acres range. Nearly 2,660 farms are 2,000 acres or more.

There are 36,950 farms in the state with annual income ranging from less than $1,000 to $24,999 market value of agricultural products sold and government payments; 26,110 farms had income from $25,000 to $499,999; 5,100 farms’ income ranged from $500,000 to $999,999; and 8,784 farms were in the $1 million to above $5 million range.

Indiana

NASS reported 56,649 farms in Indiana across 14,969,996 acres. Family-operated farms represent 95.5% of the total. The average farm size is 264 acres. The largest “farm by size” category is 18,655 farms in the 10 to 49 acres range. There are 1,452 Indiana farms with 2,000 or more acres.

There were 34,195 farms had income ranging from less than $1,000 to $24,999 market value of agriculture products sold and government payments; 16,972 in the $25,000 to $499,999 range; 2,656 farms from $500,000 to $999,999 range; and 5,652 in the $1 million to above $5 million range.

More key findings

Other key general findings from the Farm Typology Report include:

• Southern and New England states have the highest share of small family farms. Midwestern and Northern Plains states have the lowest share. Conversely, the share of mid-size and large-scale farms is highest in the Midwest and Northern Plains states.

• Farm specialization varies by farm size. The majority (57%) of small family farms specializes in cattle (34%) or “other crops” such as hay and forage production (23%). Fifty-three percent of mid-size farms specialize in grains and oilseeds. Large-scale family farms vary more in product specialization, though they are more likely than other family farms to specialize in dairy production or specialty crops.

• Small family farms account for 45% of all direct sales to consumers, compared to 17% for mid-size family farms and 23% for large-scale family farms.

• Compared to producers on mid-size and large-scale family farms, small family farm producers are more likely to be women, age 65 or older, and report being of Hispanic origin or a race other than white. They are also more likely to be new and beginning farmers — farmed 10 years or less — and to report having military service.