Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report ... - AgWeb

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of operator household net worth, reflecting the value of the land used infarming. However, much of the net worth of farm households is illiquid andnot easily available to spend for consumption because it is largely based onassets necessary to continue farming. Real estate amounted to 79 percent oftotal assets of family farms.Figure 10Median income of principal-operator households by farm type, 2007In aggregate, operator households income is similar to that of all U.S. households$1,000 per household150125100Median income, all U.S.households ($50,200)7550250RetirementResidential/lifestyleLow-sales Medium-salesFarming occupationLargeVery largeAll operatorhouseholdsSmall family farms(sales less than $250,000)Large-scalefamily farmsNote: Median income falls at the midpoint of the distribution of households ranked by income. Half of the households have incomeabove the median, while the other half have income below that level.Sources: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service and Economic Research Service, 2007 Agricultural Resource ManagementSurvey, Phase III, for farm households. U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey forall U.S. households.32Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 2010 Edition / EIB-66Economic Research Service/USDA
Government PaymentsFarm program payments can conveniently be sorted into two groups—commodity-related and conservation (see box, “Types of Farm ProgramPayments”). About 39 percent of farms received Government payments ofsome sort in 2007, but the relative importance of Government programsvaries widely by farm type (fig. 11). Medium-sales, large, and very largefarms were more likely to receive Government payments, especiallycommodity-related payments, than smaller farms.Commodity-Related ProgramsCommodity programs target specific commodities, largely feed and foodgrains, cotton, and oilseeds. Payments are tied to the amount of croplandenrolled in programs and yield histories. Specialty crops (except dry peas,lentils, and chickpeas) and livestock (except dairy, wool, mohair, and honey)are not supported by traditional commodity programs. Producers of nonprogramcommodities—as well as producers of program commodities—mayalso receive disaster assistance and occasional ad hoc payments. Farmsproducing nonprogram commodities may receive substantial payments ifthey also produce program commodities or did so in the past.Types of Farm Program PaymentsThe 2007 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) collected information about the followingfarm program payments:Commodity-related payments. Direct payments, countercyclical payments, loan deficiency payments,marketing loan gains, net value of commodity certificates, milk income loss contact payments, agriculturaldisaster payments, and any other miscellaneous State, Federal, and local payments. Participation in theseprograms generally requires present or past production of specific commodities.Goals: Establish price and farm income support, stabilize production, and provide a safety net for farmers.Conservation payments. There are two types of conservation payments:• Payments from land-retirement programs. Includes the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP),the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), the Farmable Wetlands Reserve Program (FWP), and theConservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).Goal: Remove environmentally sensitive farmland from production for long periods of time—at least10 years, or permanently, in some cases.• Payments from working-land programs. Includes the Environmental Quality Incentives Program(EQIP) and the Conservation Security Program (CSP). These programs provide technical and financialassistance to farmers who install or maintain conservation practices on land in production.Goal: Address environmental problems—such as pesticide and nutrient runoff—on land in production.Since ARMS collects information from farm operators only, it excludes farm program payments made to peoplewho do not farm, mainly landlords who are not farmers. In addition, the survey data show different levels andcomposition of Government payments than do administrative data, which are based on payment records. Formore information, see “Appendix IV: Government Payments—Survey Versus Administrative Data.”33Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 2010 Edition / EIB-66Economic Research Service/USDA
Page 1 and 2: United StatesDepartment ofAgricultu
Page 3 and 4: United StatesDepartmentof Agricultu
Page 5 and 6: References. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Page 7 and 8: Distribution of farms, total produc
Page 9 and 10: IntroductionThe Family Farm Report,
Page 11 and 12: As in previous issues, the Agricult
Page 13 and 14: came from technological change, suc
Page 15 and 16: percent of the farms in both groups
Page 17 and 18: “point system” assigns values f
Page 19 and 20: Full economic costs of milk product
Page 21 and 22: Cow-calf enterprises offer three ad
Page 23 and 24: Location of U.S. Farms and Producti
Page 25 and 26: Table 4Farms and production by reso
Page 27 and 28: majority of farms in the region, 65
Page 29 and 30: Farm Operators, Principal and Secon
Page 32 and 33: farms. Since these farmers produce
Page 34 and 35: Farm Income and Financial Performan
Page 36 and 37: Defining the Financial MeasuresSome
Page 38 and 39: Operator Household Income and Net W
Page 42: About three-fourths of medium-sales
Page 45 and 46: ContractingContracts can potentiall
Page 47 and 48: Types of ContractsA contract is a l
Page 49 and 50: per year rather than below the pove
Page 52: general—are overwhelmingly male.
Page 55 and 56: Farming in Metropolitan AreasFarmin
Page 57 and 58: Figure 15Mean operator household in
Page 59 and 60: into the Twenty-first Century. Marv
Page 61 and 62: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Nat
Page 64 and 65: In fact, the number of farms in eac
Page 66 and 67: (version 3). Respondents provide wh
Page 68 and 69: iefing room. Both sets of estimates
Page 70 and 71: • Farm operators forget minor or
Page 72: ecause the sector accounts extend b

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