Local Farm Structure and Community Ties

A county's farm structure—whether large-scale or small farms dominate—is influenced not only by changes within farming but also by key factors such as nonfarm economic activity, geography, and population growth. This report identifies which counties are dominated by small- or large-farm agriculture as well as a large group, termed unclassified, which could go either way. Large-farm counties where agriculture dominates the economy are concentrated in the Plains, Midwest, and Mississippi Delta. Small-farm counties, with larger, more diversified economic bases, are concentrated in the Southeast. However, more than 50 percent of the U.S. counties are unclassified, presenting local planners special challenges in charting development either toward agriculture or to a more diversified economic base. Unclassified counties that tend to have small-farm characteristics are found mostly in New England and scattered parts of the Southeast and West. Those tending to have large-farm characteristics are usually located adjacent to large-farm counties.