Family farms

New Republic -  Most of the story of U.S. farming since then has been the rise of big agribusiness. But what about the family farms that remain? They are bigger. and the farmers who own them are wealthier. Families with commercial farms—that is to say those who make above $350,000 a year and who may actually earn enough through operating their dairies, wineries, or growing what they grow to support their families—had a median wealth of $3.6 million in 2023, according to the USDA.

Those are the exceptions. But the average farm overall still had $1,439,138 in wealth. Many of those farmers rely on off-farm income—meaning the families who own them work other jobs—and the land they use for grazing cattle or growing corn is more of a side hustle. The wealth comes from the land and capital investments, and the farm operations themselves often run at a loss, but those households have had higher median incomes than the national median every year since 1988. Many family farm proprietors have already inherited land from their families or otherwise have the money to invest.