page_title: Hobby farm
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Hobby farm / By country / United States
caption_attribution_description: English: An old dairy farm has become a hobby farm near Leicester, New York.
context_page_description: A hobby farm is a smallholding or small farm that is maintained without expectation of being a primary source of income. Some are merely to provide some recreational land, and perhaps a few horses for the family's children. Others are managed as working farms for sideline income, or are even run at an ongoing loss as a lifestyle choice by people with the means to do so, functioning more like a country home than a business.
context_section_description: In the U.S., a high proportion of farms might be classed as hobby farms. In 2007, over 40% of farms reported less than $2500 in income and over 10% of farms had less than 10 acres (4.0 hectares) of land. Over 50% of primary farm operators reported that their main income was a job outside of their farm; although, this figure includes some farm operators who do not personally participate in farming and some quite large and productive farms.
  In the US, as farms grow in size, older farms become less economically viable. Some are purchased and most of the land combined with larger nearby farms, however the large farm has little use for the buildings. These can be sold off with only a building lot of real estate, but are much more saleable if a modest area, 5 to 15 acres (20,000 to 60,000 m²) is sold along with them. These are usually snapped up quickly by people with well-paying city jobs who wish to live in the country, or to retirees, who wish to be active as part-time farmers.
  Some, especially in developed areas, are used as truck gardens, with their own produce stands, or a regular stall in a local farmer's market.
caption: An old dairy farm has become a hobby farm near Leicester, New York
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