Majority Of American Farms Are Family Farms

According to data released Tuesday, 95% of all U.S. farms are considered family farms.  That comes out to 1.9 million farms.

 Tthe 2022 Census of Agriculture Farm Typology report primarily focuses on the “family farm,” 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).  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 1.9 million farms to better reflect their variety is critical to evaluating and reporting on U.S. agriculture,” said NASS Administrator Joe Parsons. “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.”

Large-Scale Farms Responsible For More Production

Parsons noted the data shows that small family farms, those farms with a GCFI of less than $350,000 per year, account for 85% of all U.S. farms, 39% of total land in farms, and 14% of the value of all agricultural products sold.  Large-scale family farms (GCFI of $1 million or more) make up less than 4% of all U.S. farms but produce 51% of the value of all agricultural products.

The data also shows that the number of family farms decreased by 8% (almost 159,000 farms) since 2017.  Mid-size, large, and very large farms experienced increases of 2%, 40% and 65%, respectively.  The number of small family farms fell 10% (low sales) and 7% (moderate sales), respectively.

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