Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
of all farm products with only 13 percent of the farms. At 1,712 acres, commercial farms are
more than triple the size of intermediate farms. Operators reporting farming as their major
occupation are slightly younger, around 54 years old.
The past century was a period of huge change for production agriculture in this country.
Changes in farm numbers and farm size are refl ective of this change. Historically, individual
families or extended families have owned and operated the nation's farms. The family
provided the land, labor, and other capital necessary to run the business. As market prices
fl uctuated, farm families adapted by doing without or diversifying in some way. As mecha-
nization or fi nances allowed, more land was acquired—ideally to send a child to college,
or to provide a living for additional family members coming into the business.
As time moved on, farm expansion required additional inputs such as seed, fertilizer,
chemicals, credit, animal health products, or farm machinery be purchased. Technology-
fueled expansion made it possible for farmers to operate and productively manage ever
larger farm businesses, and farm size grew. However, when fl uctuations in price or crop
losses caused lean years, farmers still had obligations to pay suppliers. Financing became a
necessary and critical component of the family farm business. As we will see later in this
book, such debt fi nancing also carries a risk.
Average land values over time refl ect the economic health of the farm sector (
Table 1.6)
.
Land values grew from $196 to $737 per acre during the 1970s, as America planted from
fence row to fence row to meet a surge in worldwide demand. In turn, farm expansion
fi nanced by debt and secured through infl ated land values of the 1970s created severe fi nan-
cial problems for some producers, as well as their suppliers. Some of these farms were not
able to survive the farm crisis of the 1980s and farm foreclosures contributed to an overall
decline in farm numbers. Thus, the 1980s saw a retreat in farm land values. Farm land values
have steadily increased since 1990, as production agriculture has seen a resurgence driven
by strong growth in biofuels and export markets.
Total land in farms in the U.S. continues to decline slowly, due in part to conservation
programs, as well as continued development of housing tracts, malls, and factories
Table 1.6
Number of farms, land in farms, average size of farm, 1970-2009
Year
Farms
Land in Farms
(1,000 acres)
Average Size
(acres)
Average Farm
Land Value
($/acre)
1970
2,949,140
1,102,371
373.8
196
1975
2,521,420
1,059,420
420.2
340
1980
2,439,510
1,038,885
425.9
737
1985
2,292,530
1,012,073
441.5
713
1990
2,145,820
986,850
459.9
683
1995
2,196,400
962,515
438.2
844
2000
2,166,780
945,080
436.2
1,090
2005
2,098,690
927,940
442.2
1,610
2006
2,088,790
925,790
443.2
1,830
2007
2,204,950
921,460
417.9
2,010
2008
2,200,100
919,910
418.1
2,170
2009
2,200,010
919,800
418.1
2,100
Source: McGath 2011.
