Editing Family farm (section)

===United States===

In 2012, the United States had 2,039,093 family farms (as defined by USDA), accounting for 97 percent of all farms and 89 percent of census farm area in the United States.<ref name=USCensusAg2012>United States Department of Agriculture. 2014. 2012 Census of agriculture. United States summary and state data. Volume 1. Geographic area series. Part 51 AC-12-A-51.</ref> In 1988 Mark Friedberger warned, "The farm family is a unique institution, perhaps the last remnant, in an increasingly complex world, of a simpler social order in which economic and domestic activities were inextricably bound together. In the past few years, however, American agriculture has suffered huge losses, and family farmers have seen their way of life threatened by economic forces beyond their control."<ref>See [https://muse.jhu.edu/book/37559 Mark Friedberger, ''Farm Families and Change in 20th-Century America'']</ref> However, by 1981 Ingolf Vogeler argued it was too late—the American family farm had been replaced by large agribusiness corporations pretending to be family operated.<ref>Ingolf Vogeler, ''The myth of the family farm: Agribusiness dominance of US agriculture'' (1981) [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TLDBDNJ/ excerpt].</ref>

A USDA survey conducted in 2011 estimated that family farms account for 85 percent of US farm production and 85 percent of US gross farm income. Mid-size and larger family farms account for 60 percent of US farm production and dominate US production of cotton, cash grain and hogs. Small family farms account for 26 percent of US farm production overall, and higher percentages of production of poultry, beef cattle, some other livestock and hay.<ref name="Hoppe, R.A 2014">Hoppe, R.A. 2014. Structure and finances of U.S. farms: family farm report, 2014 edition. United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service EIB-132.</ref>

Several kinds of US family farms are recognized in USDA farm typology:

Small family farms are defined as those with annual gross cash farm income (GCFI) of less than $350,000; in 2011, these accounted for 90 percent of all US farms. Because low net farm incomes tend to predominate on such farms, most farm families on small family farms are extremely dependent on off-farm income. 
Small family farms in which the principal operator was mostly employed off-farm accounted for 42 percent of all farms and 15 percent of total US farm area; median net farm income was $788. 
Retirement family farms were small farms accounting for 16 percent of all farms and 7 percent of total US farm area; median net farm income was $5,002.

The other small family farm categories are those in which farming occupies at least 50 percent of the principal operator's working time. These are:

Low-sales small family farms (with GCFI less than $150,000); 26 percent of all US farms, 18 percent of total US farm area, median net farm income $3,579.

Moderate-sales small family farms (with GCFI of $150,000 to $349,999); 5.44 percent of all US farms, 13 percent of total US farm area, median net farm income $67,986.

Mid-size family farms (GCFI of $350,000 to $999,999); 6 percent of all US farms, 22 percent of total US farm area; median net farm income $154,538.

Large family farms (GCFI $1,000,000 to $4,999,999); 2 percent of all US farms, 14 percent of total US farm area; median net farm income $476,234.

Very large family farms (GCFI over $5,000,000); <1 percent of all US farms, 2 percent of total US farm area; median net farm income $1,910,454.<ref name="Hoppe, R.A 2014"/>

Family farms include not only sole proprietorships and family partnerships, but also family corporations. Family-owned corporations account for 5 percent of all farms and 89 percent of corporate farms in the United States. About 98 percent of US family corporations owning farms are small, with no more than 10 shareholders; average net farm income of family corporate farms was $189,400 in 2012. (In contrast, 90 percent of US non-family corporations owning farms are small, having no more than 10 shareholders; average net cash farm income for US non-family corporate farms was $270,670 in 2012.)<ref name=USCensusAg2012/>