If so, real, small farmers made up 54 percent of all farmers responding to the Farm Cost and Return Survey. Thus, over half of all real farmers may be small farmers. A person doesn't spend over half of their working hours on a sideline or supplemental activity. Survey data including the retirement occupation category was not readily available for Missouri. Small farmers produce a much smaller proportion of total production than do large farmers.
Large farms are important in terms of providing for the food and fiber needs of society.
But, farm families are a part of society also. Consumers, on the average spend about 10 cents of each dollar for food, and the farmer only gets one penny of that dime. The rest goes for marketing, transportation, processing, packaging, etc. We need to weigh the well being of the smaller number of people who rely on farming for a large part of their livelihood against the small percentage that a far large number of consumers spend for food and fiber. Certainly we cannot ignore the responsibility to provide for the food and fiber needs of people, but neither can we ignore the needs of the majority of those who rely on farming for a living.