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
Jan 30, 2025 - Farmers Rein in Spending Amid Wage Pressure
- Prices farmers paid for services were relatively flat in November compared to a year ago and fell 2% versus October, according to the USDA. Farmers are contending with rising wages. Average wages for all farm workers rose 1.6% in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago to $19.11 per hour, according to the latest farm labor report from the USDA. In Q4, field workers earned an average wage of $18.57 per hour, an increase of 1.8% year over year, while livestock workers were paid an average wage of $17.51 per hour, up 1.9% over the same period. Employment on farms and ranches rose 2.7% YoY in Q4 but fell 1.4% versus Q3.
- Falling crop prices and rising input costs are causing US farmers to cut back on spending, sending shocks throughout the US agriculture sector and prompting 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. US farmers are cutting back on their spring planting budgets by trading down to generic chemicals to treat their crops, Reuters reported in January.
- 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.
- President Trump’s mass deportation plan 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.
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