Farm Structure and Organization

The Economic Research Service (ERS) research program on farm structure examines developments in the farm sector as a whole and for individual commodities, assesses their causes, and evaluates their impacts on productivity, financial performance, prices, and environmental outcomes. ERS research provides detailed empirical analyses of specific issues related to the economics of farm structure and organization, including the use of contracts. For examples of recent and ongoing research topics, see Research on Farm Structure and Organization.

ERS has three periodic report series related to farm structure:

Family Farm Reports and Brochures. ERS researchers seek to identify and analyze the key factors affecting farm structure and prepare periodic reports on the changing structure and finances of the diverse types of U.S. farms. For the latest brochure in the series, see America’s Farms and Ranches at a Glance: 2023 Edition (EIB-263, December 2023).

Agricultural Contracting Updates. ERS tracks the use of marketing and production contracts in agriculture across time and commodities.

Characteristics and Production Costs Reports. ERS researchers examine how production costs vary among producers of different commodities, as well as how farm operator and structural characteristics affect cost and returns estimates.

For a complete list and links to reports in these three series, see Readings.

Finally, ERS and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) jointly conduct the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), an annual survey that collects data on structural characteristics summarized for various classifications of farms—such as commodity specialization, sales class, and various farm typologies—to better understand the changing nature of farming. The Census of Agriculture, conducted by NASS, also provides information on the structure of agriculture that is used extensively by ERS for farm structure analyses, especially when tracking trends over long periods of time or when analyzing small groups.

World Agricultural Production, Resource Use, and Productivity, 1961–2020 An Overview of Farms Operated by Socially Disadvantaged, Women, and Limited Resource Farmers and Ranchers in the United States America’s Farms and Ranches at a Glance: 2023 Edition Structure, Management Practices, and Production Costs of U.S. Beef Cow-Calf Farms Concentration and Competition in U.S. Agribusiness

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Financial Health Indicators for Family Farms Show a Mixed Picture During the 2020 Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic Women Identified as Operators on 51 Percent of U.S. Farms in 2019 Organic Dairy Farms Realized Both Higher Costs and Higher Gross and Net Returns Than Conventional Dairy Farms Scale Economies Provide Advantages to Large Dairy Farms Consolidation in U.S. Agriculture Continues

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ARMS Farm Financial and Crop Production Practices Farm Income and Wealth Statistics Farm Household Income and Characteristics Commodity Costs and Returns Agricultural Productivity in the U.S.

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Farm Household Well-being Farm Sector Income & Finances Socially Disadvantaged, Beginning, Limited Resource, and Female Farmers and Ranchers Agricultural Research and Productivity Crop & Livestock Practices

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