Fewer, Larger U.S. Farms by Year 2000--and Some Consequences

Thomas McDonald and George Coffman

No 309298, Agricultural Information Bulletins from United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

Abstract: The number of U.S. farms will likely decline by about a third in the next 20 years, if present trends continue, while the number of large farms (annual sales more than $100,000) will quadruple. Family farms will continue to dominate, but the influence of small farms will wane. More large farms will probably mean more farm corporations, more specialization in what farms produce, agricultural production concentrated among relatively few farms, and fewer young people getting started in farming because of the high capital requirements.

Keywords: Farm Management; Land Economics/Use; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23
Date: 1980-10
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uersab:309298

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.309298

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