Crop Production
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 964,770 crop farms in the US produce more than 382 million acres of commercial-scale grains, sugar, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and ornamental crops. The establishments that produce these are generally considered farms but, depending on the commodity produced, may be more specifically known as orchards, groves, greenhouses, and nurseries. About 25% of crops are grown as seed or as input for other crops or livestock.
Aging Farmer Population
The average age of a US farmer in 2022 was 58.
Contract Farming Declining
The process by which a buyer, typically a food processor or supermarket chain, establishes an agreement with a farm to produce a certain quantity and quality of a given crop in exchange for an agreed-upon price and a given delivery date, known as contract farming, is on the decline in the United States.
Industry size & Structure
The average crop farm has two employees and generates about $291,000 in annual revenue.
- The US Census Bureau defines a farm as an operation that produces or should have reasonably produced over $1,000 in revenue during a given year, including government payments. Under this definition, there are about 964,770 crop farms in the US.
- Crop farms produce about $280 billion in value annually, with corn and soybeans accounting for more than half of US crop cash receipts.
- Family-owned and operated farms account for 95% of all US farms and 84% of farmland.
- Over 2.5 million are employed in the crop sector and over 45% of employees are family members.
- Small family farms (less than $250,000 in annual sales) make up 88% of US farms and hold 51% of all farm assets.
- Large farms (more than $1 million in annual sales) account for 78% of the production value.
- Over 17,000 crop farms are certified as organic, for a total of 4.9 million certified organic acres. These farmers sell about $6.1 billion in organic crops annually. Marketing of organic products is primarily to food wholesalers (60%) and consumers (30%); the remainder is to food retailers.
- 35% of US farms fully own their land; 31% is rented to farmers who also own their land, and 9% is rented to tenant farmers who don’t own land.
- Nearly 80% of farms in the US have Internet access.
Industry Forecast
Crop Production Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Apr 23, 2025 - Tariffs Impacting Soybean Exports
- US soybean exports face a 115% tariff into China as the trade war between the two countries escalates, Farm Journal reported in April. While US soybean exports to China have declined since 2018, China is still the top destination for American soybeans. During the first Trump administration’s 2018 trade war with China, US agriculture suffered over $27 billion in losses, with soybeans accounting for 71% of those losses, according to the American Soybean Association (ASA). Since then, China has been reducing its purchases of US farm products, including corn and soybeans, and purchasing more from countries like Brazil. China isn’t the only market soybean farmers are worried about. “The announcement of 10% baseline tariffs on all countries and additional, individualized tariff rates on approximately 60 countries impacts all of US soy’s top 10 export markets," according to ASA, adding "This includes No. 1 export market China.”
- After threatening to slap steep fees on China-linked ships entering US ports, the Trump administration revised its plan to lessen the impact on US agriculture and energy exports, The Wall Street Journal reported in April. Trump’s initial plan was roundly criticized by agriculture industry executives, who said it would hobble US farm exports. The administration’s revised plan is to base the fees largely on vessel capacity, resulting in lower fees for smaller ships arriving at US ports. The US Trade Representative is also looking to ease the charges on ships carrying agricultural exports like soybeans and timber, according to WSJ. The USTR’s original plan, announced in February, was to charge Chinese-built vessels between $500,000 and $1.5 million for each port call. The port-fee plan is part of an effort by the Trump administration to revive shipbuilding in the US, which lags behind other countries.
- As part of its dismantling of the USAID, the Trump administration halted the Food for Peace program, which has provided a market for US crops and helped to feed 4 billion people in more than 150 countries since its inception in the 1950s, The Wichita Eagle reports. However, Trump’s shutdown of the US Agency for International Development is facing pushback from Republicans in farm states. To safeguard the program and billions of dollars in wheat, rice, and other farm product sales, two Kansas Republicans are pushing legislation to move it to the US Department of Agriculture. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said food aid had proven its value in fostering political stability abroad, bolstering US national security and providing markets for US crops, adding “By moving this program closer to the producers who grow these crops, we can help reduce waste and make certain our farmers have access to this valuable market.”
- The specter of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and further restrictions on immigration under the second Trump administration has farmers worried, CNN reports. Mass deportations of undocumented immigrants would likely slash farm labor in half, which could result in massive food waste and create risk for the nation’s food security, Ron Estrada, CEO at Farmworker Justice, told CNN. Moreover, there’s little appetite among native-born workers to work the fields. Farmers in the US, especially in specialty crop and livestock operations, are already struggling to find enough workers. As of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, 15% fewer farms reported using hired labor compared to 2017. As of 2021, an estimated 47% of all US agricultural workers were of Hispanic (including Mexican) origin, and 39% were not born in the US (including Puerto Rico), with many lacking authorization to work legally in the United States.
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