The Farms and Ranches at a Glance Report shows U.S. farming is still a family business. Betty Resnick, an American Farm Bureau Federation economist, says the report is a project of USDA’s Economic Research Service and National Agricultural Statistics Service.
"The America’s farms and Ranches at a Glance Report is from ERS and NASS, and it describes the characteristics of U.S. farms and ranches," Resnick said. "They use data from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey, which is an annual survey of about 19,000 farms."
The report says a large number of U.S. farms are still owned by families.
"One of the biggest findings is that farming continues to be a family business. 97 percent of all U.S. farms are family-owned, and family farms account for 90 percent of all farm production by value," Resnick said. "In addition, 88 percent of all farms are classified as small family farms."
Resnick says the report underscores the financial conditions for U.S. farms.
"It puts high-risk farms as those operating at under a 10 percent profit margin, and low-risk farms operate with over 25 percent profit margin. It's important to note that every category of farms has at least a quarter of farms classified in that category as high risk, which is why the farm safety net provided by the farm bill is so critical to keeping our country's farms in business during volatile times," Resnick said. "In addition, the survey does classify farms into small farms, mid-size, and large, and classifies them as both family-owned and non-family-owned."
Want more news on this topic? Farm Bureau members may subscribe for a free email news service, featuring the farm and rural topics that interest them most!
FAQs
"One of the biggest findings is that farming continues to be a family business. 97 percent of all U.S. farms are family-owned, and family farms account for 90 percent of all farm production by value," Resnick said.
What percent of farms in America are family-owned? ›
As of 2022, 97% of farms are family farms accounting for 90% of total production – an 8.4% increase since 2021. That's according to the latest edition of America's Farms and Ranches at a Glance – an annual publication from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
How many pig farms in the US are family owned and operated? ›
Farming is our way of life – 98% of America's pig farms are family owned. The future of our farms, large and small, is tied to the land and to the health of animals in our care.
Who owns most of the farms in America? ›
Who are the Largest Farmland Owners in the United States?
- Bill and Melinda Gates. Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, and his former wife Melinda Gates are not only renowned philanthropists but also owners of significant farmland. ...
- The Wonderful Company (Stewart and Lynda Resnick) ...
- John Malone. ...
- Ted Turner. ...
- Stan Kroenke.
Small family farms make up about 90 percent of the farm count and operate almost half of the farmland. The largest share of the value of farm production (46 percent), however, occurs on large-scale family farms.
How many farms in the US are corporate owned? ›
"One of the biggest findings is that farming continues to be a family business. 97 percent of all U.S. farms are family-owned, and family farms account for 90 percent of all farm production by value," Resnick said. "In addition, 88 percent of all farms are classified as small family farms."
How much farmland does China own in the US? ›
China owns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land. That's a 30% increase just since 2019. And on top of that, they own land near an air force base in North Dakota.
How much farmland does Jeff Bezos own? ›
After farmers, the next biggest group of investors is high net worth individuals, he said. Bezos, the founder of Amazon, owns about 420,000 acres of U.S. farmland, according to media reports. Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, has nearly 270,000 acres.
Who owns 283 million acres of farmland? ›
The majority of rented acres are owned by non-operator landlords. Eighty percent of rented farmland (283 million acres, 30 percent of all farmland) is owned by non-operator landlords,those that own land used in agricultural production but are not actively involved in farming.
Why are family farms going out of business? ›
Adapting to climate change and the rising threat of chemical contamination are challenges that speak to the extraordinarily high level of risk that farmers take on with very little public safety net or supports other than the help of other family members and friends, despite their service to the wider community.
The average farm size for 2021 is 445 acres, up from 444 acres the previous year. Average farm size increased in the $1,000,000 or more sales class and decreased or remained unchanged in all other sales classes.
How many farms in the U.S. are black owned? ›
The total number of Black-owned farms was just 28,723 in 2022, a dramatic drop from the 32,910 such farms in 2017, according to the Department of Agriculture's Census of Agriculture.
What percent of beef farms and ranches are family-owned? ›
In total, family farms accounted for about 97 percent of total farms and 90 percent of total production in 2022. Nonfamily farms accounted for the remaining 3 percent of farms. Among nonfamily farms, 16 percent had a GCFI of $1 million or more.
How much farmland is privately owned in the US? ›
There are nearly 1.3 billion acres of privately owned agricultural land in the United States. Under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, foreign investors in U.S. agricultural land must report their transactions to USDA.
How many private farms are in the US? ›
In 2023, there were about 1.89 million farms in the United States. However, the number of farms has been steadily dropping since the year 2007, when there were about 2.2 million farms in the United States.
What percentage of families who own a farm have a family member with an off farm job? ›
Most farm households (91 percent) have at least one family member working at an off-farm job.
