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
Feb 23, 2025 - Fed Payments Lift Farm Economy
- The federal government has come to the rescue of the ailing US farm sector with an unprecedented infusion of cash, Farm Journal reports. The nation’s farms can expect to see a significant increase in net farm income in 2025, primarily driven by a staggering 345% increase in government payments, despite a decline in overall farm revenues. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, net farm income is forecast to reach $180.1 billion, up $41 billion from 2024, while net cash farm income is projected to hit $193.7 billion, a $34.5 billion increase. Farm Journal notes that while the increase in government payments has bolstered working capital and improved financial health indicators, concerns persist regarding the long-term sustainability of farm support programs. With farm receipts declining and tariff uncertainties looming, lawmakers may face pressure to reform the farm safety net.
- 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.”
- Falling crop prices and rising input costs are causing US farmers to cut back on spending, sending shocks throughout the US agriculture sector and leading The Wall Street Journal to announce in a December headline “America’s Farm Recession is Here.” The downturn in the ag economy, which began in 2023 when net farm income tumbled 20% and again by about 4% in 2024, follows record setting farm income in 2022 fueled by soaring grain prices due to the pandemic and war in Ukraine, according to the USDA. Rising costs for seed, fertilizer, and equipment amid tumbling prices for corn, soybeans, and wheat due to bumper crops is weighing on farmers’ earnings, WSJ reports. Some farmers are counting on a multibillion-dollar federal bailout attached to the continuing resolution signed by President Biden in December that contains a $10 billion provision for economic assistance to farmers.
- The specter of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and further restrictions on immigration under a 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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