In 2021, about 89% of all farms were small family farms. Small family farms operated 45% of U.S. agricultural land and produced 18% of the total value of production.
Farm size classifications are based on annual gross cash farm income, a measure of a farm’s revenue—including sales of crops and livestock, payments made under federal agricultural programs and other farm-related cash income—before deducting expenses.
Small family farms have gross cash farm income (GCFI) below $350,000. In comparison, large-scale family farms, with GCFI above $1 million, operated 27% of agricultural land and were responsible for 46% of the total value of production in 2021.
Midsize family farms, with GCFI between $350,000 and $1 million, operated 18% of agricultural land and similarly generated 18% of the total value of production. Overall, family farms of all sizes comprised about 83% of the overall production value while making up 98% of all farms.
The remaining 2% of farms were classified as nonfamily. This category includes partnerships (of unrelated partners), nonfamily corporations and farms with a hired manager unrelated to the owners. Despite accounting for such a small percentage of farms, the nonfamily category was responsible for 17% of the total value of production. — USDA Economic Research Service
