Farm Support Services
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 9,660 companies in the farm support services sector provide a variety of services for either crop or animal production. Services include farm management services, farm labor contracting, pest control, packaging of crops, breeding, and sheep dipping and shearing, among many others.
Dependence On Ag Production and Farm Income
Farm support services companies are subject to supply and demand fluctuations in animal and crop production.
Impact of Immigration Reform
Many farm services companies employ migrant workers, particularly farm management services and farm labor contractors.
Industry size & Structure
The average farm support service provider employs about 9-10 workers and generates $2-3 million in annual revenue.
- The farm support services industry includes about 9,660 companies that employ some 94,850 workers and generate around $24.6 billion in annual revenue.
- Farm support services companies vary widely in the type of services provided and processes used.
- Large firms include Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, and Syngenta.
- California, Texas, and Florida are home to most farm support service providers.
Industry Forecast
Farm Support Services Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Nov 30, 2024 - Rising Wages for Farm Workers
- Average wages for all farm workers rose 5% in the second quarter compared to a year ago to $18.98 per hour, according to the latest farm labor report from the USDA. In the second quarter, field workers earned an average wage of $18.25 per hour, an increase of 5.7% year over year, while livestock workers were paid an average wage of $17.43 per hour, up 5.8% over the same period. Employment on farms and ranches fell 5.1% YoY in Q2 but rose nearly 25% from Q1. Farm work is highly seasonal, peaking in the third and fourth quarters of the year.
- While bird flu is having a widespread impact on the US agricultural sector it’s hitting turkeys and eggs the hardest, Farm Bureau reported in November. Since 2022, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has affected 14.2 million turkeys. According to USDA’s October Livestock Poultry Outlook, 2024 turkey production is forecast at 5.1 billion pounds, down 6.3% from 2023. Facing virus-related losses, farmers raised 205 million turkeys in 2024, down 6% from 2023 and the lowest number since 1985. As of August, over 73 million egg layers had been affected by HPAI, sending egg prices soaring to a record average of $4.82 per dozen in January 2023. In 2024, the January-September average retail price for eggs is $2.99 per dozen, up 7% from 2023. Since the first detection in March 2024, there have been 494 detections of HPAI in dairy herds in 16 states, according to the USDA.
- Former President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan, if enacted, could cut the agricultural labor force in half and create major obstacles for US farmers already struggling with labor shortages, experts cited by Newsweek warned. Nearly half (45%) of all agricultural workers in the US – 950,000 of an estimated 2.2 million farmworkers – are "unauthorized" migrants working illegally on US farms and ranches. The dairy industry would be especially hard hit. According to the National Milk Producers Federation, immigrant labor accounts for 51% of all dairy labor, and dairies that employ immigrants produce 79% of the US milk supply. Major dairy-producing states, including California and Wisconsin, would be significantly impacted by the proposed deportations, as would fruit and vegetable producers in California, where approximately 75% of farm workers are undocumented, according to the Center for Farmworker Families.
- Updated projections for 2024 farm income don’t look quite as gloomy as they did earlier in the year, AgWeb’s Farm Journal reports, citing new data from the Economic Research Service. The new ERS numbers show that net cash farm income for 2024 will fall by about $12 billion, down about 7% from 2023, and net farm income will fall by $6.5 billion or 4.4%. That’s compared to ERS projections released in February that suggested net farm income would fall 26%. The primary cause for 2024’s decline in farm income is commodity prices. Cash receipts or sales are expected to fall by $27.7 billion. When combined with the inventory adjustment for crops, the value of crop production is forecast to decrease by $25.6 billion from 2023, with the largest decline coming from corn and soybeans. Fertilizer expenses for crop farmers are expected to fall by almost 10%.
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