The USDA and Economic Research Service (ERS) classifies farms by several criteria. These include the "size of the farm, the primary occupation of the operator, and family/nonfamily ownership of the farm." (Understanding) It is also important to note that the USDA definition of farm means "any place that produced and sold-or normally would have produced and sold-at least $1000 of agriculural products in a given year." (Understanding) To get an all-in-one picture and comparison of the farm groups, the ERS and National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) send out an annual survey called the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). This survey is a good resource to determine how farms are operating, and can help determine future farm policy.
Taken from the 2014 survey, the table above shows that family farms are the most numerous, but not the most productive. While there are several factors that help keep the small family farms operating, the large scale farms have cash crops on their side.
It's hard to determine a future for the small family farms since there are so many factors that affect them. Hoppe and MacDonald explain in this article that a huge percentage of family farms, 53 to 76%, were operating in the red by the 2014 survey. However, the owners are able to keep their farms by working jobs off the farm. Many also write off their losses on their taxes. It seems unfair that the large and non family owned farms hold most of the cards for the high value crops and livestock. On the other hand, the high value crops require large amounts of production, and a smaller farm wouldn't be able to meet demand. Small farms also have the highest production of poultry and hay so there's a niche there.
These numbers from 2014 could be drastically changed by now, I am definitely interested to see how the 2016 survey turns out after the new 2014 farm bill, but it probably won't be available until mid year 2017. Did the new crop insurances affect production numbers? How are the midsize farms keeping up? Is the survey going to change after the 2014 farm bill? I am holding out hope that despite the opinions of the farmers, the farm bill may actually do some good for the family owned operations.
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What did you find interesting about the response? How many farms are still considered family farms is interesting. What would I add? Why are there so many still considered family farms, are they under some for independent contractor agreement or land lease to a large company? What do you agree OR disagree with and why? I agree with the importance of family farms in the traditional sense.
ReplyDeleteWow, I am shocked at what dollar amount the USDA says qualifies as a family farm. Anyone who has a decent size backyard and grows some crops may qualify wouldn't you think? I'm not surprised about the production of the large farms. It's always cheaper to produce something in bulk. Those small family farms probably pay more for equipment, supplies and definitely labor. I personally would like to know more about what our government does to help the small family farms stay in business because if our society losses them, we are in trouble. I am also wondering why there is higher poultry and hay production on family farms? I would think it has something to do with the cost of raising them and the profit they receive.
ReplyDeleteYou are right on about the large farms being able to produce more because of bulk production. They also end up with more subsidies than the small farms so they get a leg up there. They are able to write off their employee wages with their operating costs, where small farms are not. That's why most family farms rely so much on family members to run it, and families aren't as big as they used to be! A lot of the newer generations also don't want to work on a farm, so they go into other professions. I have the same thoughts on hay and poultry, I think because the cost to grow is on the lower end they can turn a large profit. Unlike cattle farmers, sometimes they may only make $20 a head if the price dips. It takes quite a bit more to raise cattle than chickens.
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