Most Million-Dollar Farms Are Family Owned
January 6, 2009 Million-dollar farms – those with annual sales of at least $1 million – accounted for about half of U.S. farm sales in 2002, up from a fourth in 1982 (with sales measured in constant 2002 dollars), according to a new USDA report. By 2006, million-dollar farms, accounting for 2% of all U.S. farms, dominated U.S. production of high-value crops, milk, hogs, poultry, and beef.
The shift to million-dollar farms is likely to continue because they tend to be more profitable than smaller farms, giving them a competitive advantage.
Most million-dollar farms (84%) are family farms, that is, the farm operator and relatives of the operator own the business. The million-dollar farms organized as nonfamily corporations tend to have no more than 10 stockholders.
The entire USDA report, “Million-Dollar Farms in the New Century,” can be found by clicking here.
