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Working the Land With 10 Acres: Small Acreage Farming in the United States

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  • Newton, Doris

Abstract

According to the U.S. Census of Agriculture, 294,000 farms operated on 10 or fewer acres in 2007. While most small acreage (SA) operations did very little farming, approximately 50,000 SA farms had gross sales of $10,000 or more in 2007; 3,600 reported grossing $500,000 or more. Thus, a limited land base does not necessarily translate into low sales. This report focuses on SA farms, especially those grossing $10,000 or more in a given year, and examines such characteristics as production strategies, types of products, sales, household income, and financial performance. The 46,000 SA farms with sales between $10,000 and $500,000 in 2007 were primarily active in floriculture, tree nurseries, and fruits and vegetables, while the 3,600 SA farms with at least $500,000 in sales were primarily active in confined livestock production. SA farms produce only small amounts of field crops, such as wheat, corn, or cotton, which require larger amounts of land.

Suggested Citation

  • Newton, Doris, 2014. "Working the Land With 10 Acres: Small Acreage Farming in the United States," Economic Information Bulletin 168380, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersib:168380
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.168380
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    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/168380/files/EIB123.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. MacDonald, James M. & Korb, Penelope J., 2011. "Agricultural Contracting Update: Contracts in 2008," Economic Information Bulletin 101279, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
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    Cited by:

    1. Krzyżanowski, Julian T., 2016. "The Problems of Direct Support for Plant Production in the European Union and the United States," Problems of World Agriculture / Problemy Rolnictwa Światowego, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, vol. 16(31), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Wang, Sun Ling & Newton, Doris J., 2015. "Productivity and Efficiency of U.S. Field Crop Farms: A Look at Farm Size and Operator’s Gender," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205344, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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