2021 USDA Report Finds 98% of Farms are Still Family Owned

In the 2021 edition of the USDA report, much of the numbers were compared with the 2011 report, which was the earliest year using the same typology. While many things have remained constant, the comparison tells a different story.

The information for these statistics are compiled from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey using a sample of approximately 11,841 farms.

In 2020, family farms accounted for 98% of total farms and 87% of total production. 89% of those farms were small family farms which, compared to 2011, showed a drop in the share of land operated by small family farms from 52% in 2011, to 48% in 2020. Likewise, the share of the value of production on small family farms declined from 26% to 20%.

However, large-scale family farms accounted for 46% of the total value of production in 2020, an increase from 35% in 2011. Large-scale family farms also accounted for an increased share of total land operated from 16% in 2011 to 24% in 2020.

More facts from the 2021 USDA report:

Commodities

Large-scale family farms produce the majority of some, but not all, commodities.

Majority of the values of cotton (62%), dairy (73%) and high-value crops (57%) was produced on large-scale family farms in 2020. Small family farms produced the majority of hay (59%).

Most poultry production is done under production contracts with a contractor paying a fee to a farmer who raises poultry to maturity. Small family farms produced 49 percent of U.S.