By The Numbers: Family Matters Big Time on U.S. Farms

Family farms comprise 95% of all U.S. farms, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture Farm Typology report just released by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

The 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.

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.

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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.

For more details from the report, continue reading at nass.usda.gov.