Structural and Financial Characteristics of U.S. Farms, 1995: 20th Annual Family Farm Report to Congress

by Judith E. Sommer, Robert A. Hoppe, Robert Green, and Penni Korb

National average statistics related to farm production mask the diversity in the Nation's 2 million farms and the people who operate them. Farms in the United States differ not only by size (sales and acres) and type of production, but also by organizational characteristics (land ownership, legal organization, contracting arrangements) and financial characteristics (debt, assets, income, expenditures). Farm operators and their households vary with respect to demographic characteristics (occupation, age, education), financial characteristics (dependence on farm income, operator/spouse labor allocation), and management characteristics (information sources, business goals).

Keywords: Farm structure, farm income, financial performance, farm management, farm business, government payments, farm loans, computer use, minority farmers, female farm operators, farm operator household, family farm, small farm

In this publication...

• Entire Report
• Frontmatter (title page, contents, highlights)
• Introduction and Background
• Characteristics of Farm Businesses
• Characteristics of Farm Operators
• Characteristics of Farm Operator Households
• Appendix A: Glossary
• Appendix B: ARMS Coverage and Statistical Measures
• Appendix C: Measuring Farm Operator Household Income
• Appendix D: ARMS Estimates and Other Sources of Agricultural Data
• Appendix E: A New Typology of Small Farms
• Appendix F: References
• Appendix G: Appendix Tables
• Transmittal Letters