Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> And now of days are the number of farms really increasing or is the USDA
> simply measuring them by a different yardstick?

Definitions have changed in both the USDA and the Census Bureau. More 
people, my people, have become ruralites each year for the last many years 
now. There is a continuing outmigration from urban to rural counties, 
although in 2004 there appeared to be greater percentage growth in metro 
areas, which Metropolitan Statistical Areas the US Census Bureau has 
ballooned, making the numbers misleading. For lots of good reasons, many 
prefer to live in a rural setting but not diminish their urban lifestyle 
with its attendant financial requirements so they move to fringe counties 
but commute to the high-paying jobs. The USDA and Cooperative Services, 
being the clever bureaucracies that they are, need clients to justify their 
expensive existence. So they have embraced what once were called hobby 
farmers, what we might call homesteaders. Additionally, ruralites with CPA 
advice find they can offset city income with rural losses, so many "farms" 
exist for that purpose. Why not write off a tractor, riding mower, trailer, 
and part of household operating expenses? Have an elevated gas tank 
installed and buy gas with no sales tax and at a bulk price, then fill the 
commute car. We Americans are clever people and the IRS has motivated ever 
more cleverness.

Found this: "American SMALL FARM is the largest national magazine that 
specializes exclusively in the interest and needs of the American Small 
Farmer. We use USDA's definition for a small farm. Our readers earn income 
from agriculture and usually have at least one full time off-farm income. 
Our articles are written to help you improve your farm business and 
lifestyle." http://www.smallfarm.com/home.htm

Found another site that said the 1997 definition of a small farm was up to 
100k farm sales.

Found this at the USDA site: "There is also variation in projected net cash 
income changes by size of farming operation in 2005. Commercial operations, 
which represent about 9 percent of farms and more than 70 percent of 
production, are expected to experience a 2-percent decline in average net 
cash income for 2005. Average net cash income of intermediate farms 
(primary occupation of farming and gross sales below $250,000) is forecast 
to increase by nearly 3 percent in 2005. Two-thirds of U.S. farms are 
classified as rural residences--operators of which typically earn most of 
their off-farm income from off-farm sources. In contrast with intermediate 
and commercial farms, the vast majority of these farms were employed 
off-farm prior to becoming a farmer, with a much larger share of both 
operators and their spouses having off-farm jobs. The farm operations of 
these households have for many years averaged a negative net cash income, 
with 2005 expected to continue this trend."

And finally, this:

"small farm

"In the past, ERS [Economic Research Service of the USDA] frequently used 
$50,000 in agricultural sales as the delineation between large and small 
farms.   "Noncommercial" or small farms had sales less than $50,000, while 
"commercial" or large farms had sales of $50,000 or more.

"To some extent, the cutoff between small and large farms is arbitrary, and 
cutoffs other than $50,000 are also used.  The National Commission on Small 
Farms, for example, used a much higher cutoff in its definition of small 
farms: farms with sales less than $250,000.  The Commission wanted to 
include more farm families of relatively modest means who may need to 
improve their net farm incomes.  ERS has created a farm typology, with 
eight groups, that incorporates the Commission's $250,000 cutoff.

"Nevertheless, most farm businesses are small businesses.  The Small 
Business Administration (SBA) generally classifies farms as small if they 
have sales less than $500,000.  By SBA standards, about 97 percent of U.S. 
family farms are small.  (The SBA uses higher cutoffs for nonfarm 
businesses.  Cutoffs range upwards from $3 or $5 million, for businesses 
where cutoffs are defined in dollar terms.  They begin at 500 employees for 
businesses where cutoffs are defined in terms of employment.) "