Jan 16, 2025

U.S. agriculture dominated by family farms

Posted Jan 16, 2025 5:24 PM

In 2023, roughly 86 percent of all farms were small family farms. A USDA report says these farms have a gross cash income below $350,000 and operate on 41 percent of all U.S. agricultural land. The family farms produced 17 percent of the total value of U.S. agricultural production. Large-scale family farms, those with gross cash income above $1 million, represented four percent of farms and accounted for 31 percent of agricultural land and 48 percent of the total value of agricultural production in 2023.

Mid-sized family farms, with income between $350,000 and $999,999, represented six percent of farms and accounted for 18 percent of agricultural land and 18 percent of the total value in agricultural production. In total, family farms accounted for about 96 percent of total farms, 90 percent of agricultural land, and 83 percent of the total production value in 2023. The remaining four percent are corporate owned, non-family farms.