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You are here: Home /          Publications /          EIB: Economic Information Bulletin /          Small Farms in the United States: Persistence Under Pressure

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## Sections

              - Overview
              - Report summary

## Related Topics

              - Farm Economy
              - Beginning & Disadvantaged Farmers
              - Farm Household Well-being
              - Farm Structure and Organization
              - Rural Economy & Population

### Small Farms in the United States: Persistence Under Pressure

Robert  HoppeJames  MacDonald
Economic Information Bulletin No. (EIB-63) 39 pp, February 2010

        Ninety-one percent of U.S. farms are classified as small—gross cash farm income (GCFI) of less than $250,000. About 60 percent of these small farms are very small, generating GCFI of less than $10,000. These very small noncommercial farms, in some respects, exist independently of the farm economy because their operators rely heavily on off-farm income. The remaining small farms—small commercial farms—account for most small-farm production. Overall farm production, however, continues to shift to larger operations, while the number of small commercial farms and their share of sales maintain a long-term decline. The shift to larger farms will continue to be gradual, because some small commercial farms are profitable and others are willing to accept losses.

**Keywords:** Family farms, farm businesses, farm financial performance, farm-operator household income, farm operators, farm structure, noncommercial farms, small farms, small commercial farms

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**Last updated:** Sunday, June 03, 2012

**For more information contact:**Robert  Hoppe, James  MacDonald, and Penni  Korb

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