Small Farms in the United States: Persistence Under Pressure

Robert Hoppe , James M. MacDonald ; Penni Korb

United States Department of Agriculture

关键词: Family farms;    farm businesses;    farm financial performance;    farm-operator household income;    farm operators;    farm structure;    noncommercial farms;    small farms;    small commercial farms;   

RP-ID  :  EIB-63

学科分类：农业科学（综合）

美国|英语

来源: United States Department of Agriculture Publications

【 摘 要 】

Ninety-one percent of U.S. farms are classified as small-gross cash farm income (GCFI) of less than $250,000. About 60 percent of these small farms are very small, generating GCFI of less than $10,000. These very small noncommercial farms, in some respects, exist independently of the farm economy because their operators rely heavily on off-farm income. The remaining small farms-small commercial farms-account for most small-farm production. Overall farm production, however, continues to shift to larger operations, while the number of small commercial farms and their share of sales maintain a long-term decline. The shift to larger farms will continue to be gradual, because some small commercial farms are profitable and others are willing to accept losses.