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The U.S. farm sector is too diverse to benefit from
a "one size fits all" approach to farm policy. For example,
while ERS farm income figures may be an indicator of the relative
economic health of the sector, performance can vary greatly across
all farm types and sizes, as well as from region to region.
In addition to monitoring income and costs across
the farm sector as a whole, ERS follows family farms using a typology
that categorizes farms into fairly homogenous groups for policy
development and evaluation purposes, based on the occupations of
operators and farm sales classes.
Most farms in the U.S. are small family farms (sales under $250,000),
and most of the farmland is on these small farms. At the same time,
larger family and nonfamily farms account for about two-thirds of
the total value of U.S. agricultural production.
These New ERS Products Examine Diversity in the U.S. Farm Sector:
Farm
Income Forecast—Net farm income is forecast at $42.4
billion in 2001, $2.8 billion less than 2000's $45.2 billion and
$2.9 billion below the 1990-2000 average of $45.3 billion. The current
forecast has 2001 net farm income up by $1.1 billion over the previous
forecast from early January as a result of rapidly improving market
conditions in the livestock sector.
Structural and
Financial Characteristics of U.S. Farms: 2001 Family Farm Report—Uses
the ERS farm typology to examine farm structure and capture the
diversity of family farms. Among the topics addressed are the economic
viability of family farms; farm household income; characteristics
of farms and farm operators; business arrangements; the importance
of small farms to the agricultural sector; and the role of the Federal
government and farm payments.
America's Diverse
Family Farms: Assorted Sizes, Types, and Situations—This
booklet draws from the 2001 Family Farm Report to summarize
U.S. farm structure and describes the farm typology developed by
ERS.
Using
Farm Sector Income as a Policy Benchmark—This article
from the June/July issue of Agricultural Outlook discusses
the hazards of using aggregate farm-sector income measures as a
basis for policy decisions. It offers the typology as a powerful,
alternative tool for analyzing the farm economy.
Also visit these farm-focused pages for additional
resources, including detailed economic reports, new and ongoing
research, financial data, and more:
Farm Income
and Costs
Farm Structure
Farm and
Commodity Policy
Farm
Financial Management
Interested in more? Sign
up for e-mail notification of timely ERS releases of new information
on these and other topics
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