Overview
Farm structure underlies the efficiency and competitiveness
of the farm sector, the well-being of farm households,
the design of public policies, and the nature of rural
areas. Farm structure
covers a variety of topics, including the number and size
of farms, concentration of production, tenure, farm organization,
business arrangements (including contractual agreements),
and the characteristics of farmers and their households.
Farm structure both affects and is affected by public
policy and the economy at all levels. The ERS research
program in this area seeks to identify and analyze the
key factors affecting farm structure. It includes a descriptive
component focused on the development of appropriate information
to define the elements of structure, to measure those
elements, and to summarize changes in structure through
time.
Features
 The
Transformation of U.S. Livestock Agriculture: Scale, Efficiency,
and Risks—U.S. livestock production has shifted
to much larger and more specialized farms, with production
and processing much more tightly coordinated through contracts
and shared ownership of assets. Financial advantages have
driven these structural changes, but they have also generated
environmental and health risks for society. This report
relies on farm-level data to detail the nature, causes,
and effects of structural changes in livestock production.
 The
Economic Organization of U.S. Broiler Production—Broiler
production in the United States is coordinated almost
entirely through systems of production contracts, and
the industry is undergoing a gradual structural change
as production shifts to larger broiler enterprises. This
report, based on a large and representative survey of
broiler operations, describes the industry's organization,
housing features, contract design, fees and enterprise
cost structures, and farm and household finances.
 Agricultural
Contracting Update, 2005—More than half of all
transactions for U.S. agricultural products are still
conducted through spot market exchanges, in which commodities
are bought and sold in open market transactions for immediate
delivery. But a growing share of U.S. farm production
is produced and sold under agricultural contracts. The
shift of production to contracting coincides with shifts
of production to larger farms.
 Structure
and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 2007 Edition—This
report presents comprehensive information on family and
nonfamily farms and important trends in farming, operator
household income, farm performance, and contracting. Most
farms are family farms, and small family farms account
for most farms but produce a modest share of farm output.
A companion brochure
summarizes the report's findings. See also the related
Amber Waves feature on The
Importance of Farm Program Payments to Farm Households.
Growing Farm Size and the
Distribution of Farm Payments—Changes in U.S.
farm structure may have wide-ranging effects on the distribution
of benefits from farm programs. We examine one specific
development: shifts of production to larger farms have
driven important changes in the distribution of government
commodity payments, shifting them to much higher-income
households. Since the change in farm structure appears
to be ongoing, commodity payments will likely, under current
policies, continue to shift to higher income households.
Recommended Readings
Characteristics and Production
Costs of U.S. Hog Farms, 2004—Hog production
in 2004 was characterized by wide variation in the types,
sizes, and economic performance of operations. Operations
specializing in a single production phase generated more
than three times the product value, on average, of those
using the traditional farrow-to-finish approach. Low-cost
operations tended to be larger, located in the Heartland,
and operated by farmers whose primary occupation was farming.
See also The Changing Economics
of U.S. Hog Production.
Profits, Costs, and the
Changing Structure of Dairy Farming—U.S. dairy
production is consolidating into fewer but larger farms.
This report uses data from several USDA surveys to detail
that consolidation and to analyze the financial drivers
of consolidation. Specifically, larger farms realize lower
production costs.
Characteristics and Production
Costs—This series of reports examines how production
costs vary among producers of different commodities, including
production practices, input use levels (i.e., the technology
set), and farm operator/structural characteristics. The
reports also illustrate the degree to which costs vary
for producers of different commodities and indicate possible
reasons for the variation. Characteristics and production
costs are examined for low- and high-cost producers of
each commodity, and producers of varying size, region,
and typology classification:
- Characteristics
and Production Costs of U.S. Hog Farms, 2004, December
2007.
- Characteristics
and Production Costs of U.S. Corn Farms, 2001, February
2006.
- Characteristics
and Production Costs of U.S. Rice Farms, March 2004.
- Characteristics
and Production Costs of U.S. Dairy Operations, February
2004.
- Characteristics
and Production Costs of U.S. Wheat Farms, July 2002.
- Characteristics
and Production Costs of U.S. Soybean Farms, April
2002.
- Characteristics
and Production Costs of U.S. Cow-Calf Operations,
November 2001.
- Characteristics
and Production Costs of U.S. Cotton Farms, October
2001.
- Characteristics
and Production Costs of U.S. Corn Farms, September
2001.
American
Farms—The number of farms has fallen dramatically
since its peak in 1935. In the meantime, the number of
large farms has grown, which means that large farms now
form a larger share of the total U.S. farms. Nevertheless,
most of the remaining farms are family run businesses
with sales less than $250,000. The diversity of today's
farms has some implications in farm policy discussions.
From the Agriculture Fact Book 2001-2002.
See
all recommended readings...
Questions and Answers
Commonly asked questions about
farm structure,
farm characteristics
(including off-farm income, small and minority farmers),
agricultural
contracting, and corporate
farming.
Recommended Data Products
 Farm
Business and Household Survey Data: Customized Data Summaries
from ARMS—Use this new dynamic web-based data
delivery tool to learn about agriculture online: farming
practices, commodity production costs and returns, the
economics of the farm business, the structure of American
farming, and the characteristics of the American farm
household. Get tailored reporting on agricultural production
technology, farm business viability, and the structure
of U.S. agriculture from the very latest information gleaned
from ARMS-including, for the first time, data for 15 selected
States as well as the nation as a whole. Access all ARMS
data, including that previously provided in the Farm Financial
Management and the Crop Production Practices data products.
Deriving
Operator Household Income, recent years—This
spreadsheet provides the data used to derive recent as
well as forecasted U.S. average income to farm operator
households.
Historic
Data on Farm Operator Household Income—Operator
household income data prior to 1996, including a time
series back to 1960.
Related Briefing Rooms
Related Links
Trends
in U.S. Agriculture—Charts and supporting data
highlighting trends in farm numbers, and values, commodity
production from the early 1900s.
History
of American Agriculture—A poster highlighting
U.S. agricultural history back to colonial times.
National Agricultural
Statistics Service—A wide range of survey-based
information about U.S. agriculture.
Census
of Agriculture—Detailed data on farm operations
in the United States, conducted every 5 years, including
commodity production, inventory, land operated, income,
expenses, farm assets, and operator and operation characteristics.
Data are available electronically at the U.S., State,
and county levels.
See all related links...
Glossary
Check the glossary for explanations
of the economic terms and concepts used throughout the
briefing room.
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