Access to Farmland by Beginning and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers: Issues and Opportunities

Scott Callahan and Daniel Hellerstein

No 333543, USDA Miscellaneous from United States Department of Agriculture

Abstract: The 2017 Census of Agriculture reported that more than one-third of producers are over 65 years of age, and the distribution of agricultural land has shifted to fewer, larger landholders. Socially disadvantaged (SDA) producers (classified by race, ethnicity, and/or gender) may have fewer financial resources and face additional constraints when buying or raising capital for expanding farm operations. This report used USDA survey, census, and administrative data to examine measures of land access and other factors associated with the share of SDA and beginning farmers and ranchers in a county in 25 States. Several measures of land tenure, federal program participation, agricultural sales, and demographic information were used to estimate how land access and federal programs correlate with the percentage of SDA and beginning farming operations at the county level. The percentage of beginning farmers and ranchers in a county is positively correlated with the percent of rented farmland acres and negatively correlated with crop insurance premiums (measured in dollars per acre) and average farmer age. The study also found the percentage of SDA operations in a county is negatively correlated with the percentage of sales in field crops and positively correlated with the percentage of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan applications granted, and percentage of direct-to-consumer sales. Results indicated the average lease size, the percentage of livestock sales, and decreasing urbanization are negatively correlated with the percentage of SDA and beginning operations. In contrast, the percentage of rented farmland and the percentage of SDA populations are positively correlated with the percentage of SDA operators in a county.

Keywords: Agribusiness; Agricultural Finance; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Financial Economics; Industrial Organization; Land Economics/Use; Political Economy; Production Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38
Date: 2022-12-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:usdami:333543

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.333543

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