USDA's farm "typology" report: defines small, midsize, large - Food Politics by Marion Nestle (2024)

FAQs

What is the USDA typology for farms? ›

Farm Typology

Farm size is measured by gross cash farm income (GCFI), a measure of the farm's revenue that includes sales of crops and livestock, Government payments, other farm-related income, and fees received by operators from production contracts.

Small Family Farms (gross sales less than $250,000)

Small family farms – GCFI less than $350,000 Low-sales farms – GCFI less than $150,000. Moderate-sales farms – GCFI between $150,000 and $349,999. Mid-size family farms – GCFI between $350,000 and $999,999. Large-scale family farms – GCFI of $1,000,000 or more.

USDA defines it as any place from which $1000 or more of ag products are sold annually. A hobby farm has a high dependence on off farm income. Large farms have more than $500,000 in sales and an avg size of 2,500 acres.

USDA stands for U.S. Department of Agriculture and is a federal agency that Abraham Lincoln founded in 1862. The USDA is responsible for overseeing farming, ranching, and forestry industries, as well as regulating aspects of food quality and safety and nutrition labeling.

As the MyPlate icon shows, the five food groups are Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy.

Midsize: 1582 acres. Large: 2926 acres. Very large: 4673 acres.

Large farms tend to plant monocultures because heavy machinery makes them easy to manage. By contrast, small farms typically grow wider varieties of crops, contributing to agrobiodiversity, which is essential to sustainable food systems.

A farm is a tract of land cultivated for the purpose of agricultural production. A farm is classified of having $1,000 or more of agricultural products being produced or sold. A Small Farm, according to USDA census is a farm that is 179 acres or less in size, or earns $50,000 or less in gross income per year.

For example, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) often uses a definition for local and regional foods where the distance between product origin and point of sale is at most 400 miles, or both the final market and the product origin are within the same State, US territory, or Tribal land.

How does the USDA define a family farm? ›

USDA classifies family farms as “any farm organized as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or family corporation. Family farms exclude farms organized as nonfamily corporations or cooperatives, as well as farms with hired managers”.

Farm – The IRC uses the word “farm” in several places but the main definition states that a farm “includes stock, dairy, poultry, fruit, fur-bearing animal, and truck farms, plantations, ranches, nurseries, ranges, greenhouses or other similar structures used primarily for the raising of agricultural or horticultural ...

The federal category for small farms starts with operations that earn just $1,000 a year—a number determined by Congress. “That means each kid with a steer is a farm,” said UC Davis Agricultural Economics Professor Daniel Sumner. “It hasn't been adjusted for inflation since back when I was a little kid.” UC Davis Prof.

USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) also includes government payments as sales. In other words, a farm is defined as any place with any combination of sales, potential sales, and government payments totaling at least $1,000.

Large farmers tend to have higher income and more stable livelihoods due to their extensive land and resources. Medium farmers have a moderate income and may also have non-farming sources of income.

The farmland classification designates map units as prime farmland, farmland of statewide importance, farmland of local importance, or farmland of unique importance.

The USDA shields and labels assure consumers that the products they buy have gone through a rigorous review process by highly-skilled graders & auditors that follow the official grade standards and process standards developed, maintained and interpreted by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service.