USDA: Family Farms Still Dominate U.S. Agriculture

A recent USDA report said American farms have grown larger over the past three decades, but it’s still family farmers who are running them.  John Newton, with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said family farms have taken advantage of opportunities to improve their operations.

“Opportunities come available for family farms to acquire more land or grow in their operation especially as they’ve been successful in their farming operations.  SO, we have see more consolidation in agriculture, but I think it’s important to remember family farms still account for about 99% of all U.S. farms and that hasn’t changed over time.”

Newton says advancements in technology help family farmers raise more animals and grow more crops with fewer people involved and less inputs, like crop protection tools.  This efficiency helps farmers feed a growing population.

“So, we’ve seen advancements in technology, not only on the seed side, but on the planting and harvesting side, the precision agriculture, precision application of fertilizers and other harvesting equipment.  So, we’ve seen these equipments, they’ve gotten larger, they’ve gotten faster, and that’s helped us be more productive, produce more and use fewer resources while doing it.”

Newton says there has also been consolidation in several segments of agriculture, including farm machinery and chemical companies.  AFBF will continue to keep an eye on consolidation trends.

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