Welcome to ANR at Noon, August 28, 2015 State of the Farm: Iowa Trends During the 2000s David J....

Welcome toANR at Noon,

August 28, 2015

State of the Farm: Iowa Trends During the

2000s

David J. Peters, Ph.D.Associate Professor of Sociology

Extension Rural Sociologist

Data and Definitions

Data sources …• Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ERS)• Census of Agriculture (NASS)

What is a farm?$1,000 or more of agricultural products produced and intended for sale.Majority of farm is owned by the operator and individuals related to the operator.

Residence Farms• Under $350k in GCFI & non-farm occupation. Family held.

Intermediate Farms• Under $350K GCFI & farm occupation

Commercial Farms• $350k or more in GCFI

Old definition from 15 years ago. USDA updated typology in 2013.

Most farms are residence/recreation operations

Of 88,500 farms in Iowa …

• 38,700 (44%) are residence farms, declining over time.• 26,400 (30%) are intermediate farms, declining over time.• 23,400 (26%) are commercial farms, growing over past decade.

True farms numberbetween 23k-50k.

44 42 45 4352 47 53 50 51 53 50

30 3235 33

2427

25 33 32 2734

26 26 20 24 24 25 23 18 17 20 16

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

Acre

s Pe

r Far

m

Perc

ent F

arm

s

Farms in Iowa

Commercial Intermediate ResidenceAcres/Farm Acres/Farm Acres/Farm

Most farms are residence/recreation operations

Commercial farm breakouts …

• Most are mid-size farming about 800 acres.• About 7,000 large farms (1,400 ac/farm).• Few “corporate” farms.• Very few “mega” farms (2,500 ac/farm).

Residence Farm = Under $350,000 GCFI & non-farm occp.Intermediate Farm = Under $350,000 GCFI & farm occp.Mid-Size Farm = $350,000-$999,999 GCFILarge Farm = $1,000,000-$4,999,999 GCFIVery Large Farm = $5,000,000 or more GCFINon-Family Farms = Any farm not operated by owner.

38,676

26,421

14,208

6,690

3292,178

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

ResidenceFarms

IntermediateFarms

Mid-Size Large Very Large Non-Family

Acre

s Pe

r Far

m

Farm

s

Farms by Farm Class, Iowa 2013

Farms Acres/Farm

<----------------------- Commerical Farms ----------------------->

Most acres farmed by commercial operations

Of 31.5 million acres of farmland in Iowa …

• 66% in commercial farms (893 ac/farm), grew 42%• 21% in intermediate farms (252 ac/farm), fell -44% • 12% in residence farms (101 ac/farm), fell -43%

66% of land farmed by 23k farmers.

20.906 19.780 19.465 20.092 19.250 21.059 19.59715.512 15.375 16.986

14.685

6.662 7.566 8.336 6.491 5.8955.697 6.430

9.548 10.454 7.821 11.842

3.895 4.392 4.337 4.996 5.6195.206 6.406

5.933 6.2115.900

6.905

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1,000

1,100

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

Acre

s Pe

r Far

m

Acre

s (m

il)

Farm Acerage by Farm Class in Iowa

Acres-Residence Acres-Intermediate Acres-CommercialPer Farm Per Farm Per Farm

Most acres farmed by commercial operations


• 6,700 large farms operate about as many acres (89%) as ALL 65,100 residence and intermediate farms combined.

• Mid-Size and Large farms typical of “true” farms in Iowa.


101252

719

1,392

2,365

2790

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

ResidenceFarms

IntermediateFarms


Acre

s Pe

r Far

m

Acre

s (m

il)

Farm Acerage by Farm Class, Iowa 2013

Farms Acres Per Farm


Majority of ag production from commercial farms

Of $35.785 billion in agricultural production in Iowa …

• 81% from commercial farms, grew 231% past decade • 13% from intermediate farms, grew 37%• 6% from residence farms, grew 75%

81% of prodfrom only23k farmers.

$28.890$26.475

$22.634 $21.268 $19.910 $20.950$18.592

$12.548 $13.425$16.148

$8.730

$4.520$4.729

$6.688

$2.851$2.637 $2.772

$2.613

$3.016 $3.178$3.264

$3.306

$2.375

$1.764$1.689

$1.406$1.734 $1.265

$1.659

$1.727 $1.030$1.483

$1.358

$0.000

$0.200

$0.400

$0.600

$0.800

$1.000

$1.200

$1.400

$0.000

$5.000

$10.000

$15.000

$20.000

$25.000

$30.000

$35.000

$40.000

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

Valu

e Pe

r Far

m (m

il 20

13$)

Prod

uctio

n Va

lue

(bil

2013

$)

Farm Production Value by Farm Class in IowaValue-Residence Value-Intermediate Value-CommercialPer Farm Per Farm Per Farm

Majority of ag production from commercial farms


• 14,000 mid-size farms generate 1.6 times the production as ALL 65,100 residence and intermediate farms combined.

• 6,700 large farms generate 2.0 times the production asALL 65,100 residence and intermediate farms combined.


$0.061 $0.171

$0.762

$2.071

$6.993

$0.877

$0

$1

$2

$3

$4

$5

$6

$7

$8

$0

$2

$4

$6

$8

$10

$12

$14

$16

ResidenceFarms

IntermediateFarms


Valu

e Pe

r Far

m (m

il 20

13$)

Prod

uctio

n Va

lue

(bil

2013

$)

Farm Production Value by Farm Class, Iowa 2013

Farms Value Per Farm


Commercial farms are highly profitable

Commercial NCFI $410,650/farm, grew by 130% last decade.

Intermediate NCFI $28,516/farm, grew by 8% (farmer primary occupation!)

Residence NCFI $12,515/farm, grew by 102% (non-farmer occupation!)

Iowa only has 23k“true” farms, in theconventional sense.

$410.648

$409.332

$236.533$234.608

$212.402$184.873

$256.672

$183.296

$306.272$289.525

$178.278

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

$0

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

$350

$400

$450

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

Perc

ent F

arm

s

Net

Far

m In

com

e (1

000s

201

3$)

Net Farm Income Per Farm by Farm Class in IowaNFI-Commercial NFI-Intermediate NFI-ResidencePct Farms Pct Farms Pct Farms

Commercial farms are highly profitable

$12,515 $28,516$218,711

$735,724

$3,463,030

$203,220

$0

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

$3,000,000

$3,500,000

$4,000,000

ResidenceFarms

IntermediateFarms


Net

HH

Inco

me

Net Farm Income Per Farm by Farm Class, Iowa 2013




• 330 very large farm generate about as much NFCI (92%) asALL 65,100 residence and intermediate farms combined.

• 6,700 large farm generate 4.0 times as much NFCI asALL 65,100 residence and intermediate farms combined.

Off-farm income for residence/intermediate farms

Percent off-farm income for farm households …

• 90% for residence farm-HHs. Stable over time.• 75% for intermediate farm-HHs. Growing over time.• 19% for commercial farm-HHs. Declining over time.

Iowa only has 23k“true” farms, in theconventional sense.

$371.586

$342.610

$184.045$231.868

$189.074$179.546

$184.464$206.789

$293.297

$256.618

$170.544

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

$0

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

$350

$400

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

Perc

ent O

ff-F

arm

Inco

me

Net

Hou

sehd

ld In

com

e (1

000s

201

3$)

Net Income Per Farm Household by Farm Class in IowaNHHI-Commercial NHHI-Intermediate NHHI-ResidencePct Off-Farm Pct Off-Farm Pct Off-Farm

Off-farm income for residence/intermediate farms

65,100 marginal “farm” operations …• Residence farms only 10% from farming.• Intermediate farms only 25% from farming.

23,000 economically viable farm operations …• Mid-size farms 70% from farming.• Large farms 85% from farming.• Very large suppressed.

$130,196 $71,424$211,956

$592,883

$2,766,051

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

$0

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

$3,000,000

ResidenceFarms

IntermediateFarms


Perc

ent O

ff-F

arm

Inco

me

Net

HH

Inco

me

Net HH Income Per Farm by Farm Class, Iowa 2013

Net HH Inc Pct Off-Farm

<--------------------- Commerical Farms --------------------->

N.A.N.D.


Production specialty

Residence & intermediate farms specialize in mixed crops and cattle.

Mid-Sized farms specialize in corn/beans, some livestock.

Large farms also specialize in corn/beans, but also in hogs and cattle.

3042

6168

58

8

7

8

5

41

23

6

17 168

6

13

413 10

18

8 6 6 6 6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

ResidenceFarms

IntermediateFarms

CommericalFarms

Mid-Size Large

Pct F

arm

s

Production Speciality by Farm Class, Iowa 2013

Corn/Soybeans Cash Grains Other CropsCattle Hogs Other Livestock

<----- Commerical Breakouts ----->

Farm debt is low and falling

Farm debt has fallen for all types of farms over the past 10 years.

Commercial farms are most leveraged (~13%), but not near debt max (~30%).

Non-commercial farms are least leveraged (~6%), but near ½ of debt max (~45%).

6.0

4.8

6.0

6.0

8.4

9.4

6.0

9.9

7.2

10.9

13.9

6.3

7.1

6.6

4.6

8.7

8.2

7.0

9.5

10.9

14.9

13.4

13.1

14.5

13.4

15.8

20.0

20.7

17.7

17.4

22.8

23.7

24.0

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

Deb

t as

Perc

ent o

f Far

m A

sset

s

Deb

t as

Perc

ent o

f Far

m E

quity

Debt-Equity & Debt-Asset Ratios by Farm Class in Iowa

Debt v Equity-Residence Debt v Equity-Intermediate Debt v Equity-CommercialDebt v Assets Debt v Assets Debt v Assets

45.5

40.4 44

.8

40.6

52.1

61.1

36.2

56.7

41.7 49

.2

65.0

41.3

45.7

39.7

27.8

44.7

34.6

30.2 36

.1 41.0 48

.2 53.4

28.7

27.6

37.5

29.5

39.6

41.6

26.1

27.8

32.9

31.5

41.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

Perc

ent F

arm

s w

ith D

ebt

Deb

t as

Perc

ent o

f Max

imum

Deb

t Cap

acity

Debt as Percent of Max Debt Capacity by Farm Class in Iowa

Debt Max-Residence Debt Max-Intermediate Debt Max-CommercialPct Farms Pct Farms Pct Farms

Farm debt is low and falling

6 6

13 12

34

11

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

ResidenceFarms

IntermediateFarms


Deb

t as

Pct o

f Max

Deb

t Cap

acity

Deb

t as

Pct o

f Far

m E

quity

Debt-Equity & Pct Max Debt by Farm Class, Iowa 2013

Debt v Equity Debt Max




• Mid-size farms most vulnerable – higher debt-equity & higher leveraged.

• Very large farms vulnerable – very high debt-equity, but low leverage.

• Large and non-family farms OK.

Commercial farms youngest; intermediate farms oldestCommercial farmers younger … 19% under 45 yrs & 15% over 65 yrs.

Intermediate farmers older … 9% under 45 yrs & 32% over 65 yrs.

Residence owners are mixed … 15% under 45 yrs & 28% over 65 yrs.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Residence Intermediate Commercial

Perc

ent F

arm

s

Farms by Age by Farm Class in Iowa

34 & under 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 & over

Commercial farms youngest; intermediate farms oldest

15

9

19

23

34

28

32

17

11

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

ResidenceFarms

IntermediateFarms


Perc

ent

Farmers by Age by Farm Class, Iowa 2013

Under 45 65 & over


N.D.

N.A.



• All commercial farms are younger than residence/intermediate.• Very large and large farms tend to have younger operators.

Commercial & residence farmers best educated

Residence farmers educated due to professional off-farm work.

Commercial farmers educated due to high-resource/SES farms and complexity of modern ag. Similar to residence owners.

Intermediate farmers less educated due to limited-resource/SES farms. Of special concern to ANR programs.

2830

27 27 26

18

2224

22

27

21

13 12 12 11 11

1512

1415

18 17

2724

22 2320 20

25

31

2724

22

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

Perc

ent C

olle

ge D

egre

e

Farmers with a College Degree or Higher in Iowa

Residence Intermediate Commercial

Commercial & residence farmers best educated

28

13

2630

62

29

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

ResidenceFarms

IntermediateFarms


Perc

ent

Farmers with a College Degree by Farm Class, Iowa 2013




• Mid-size and large farmers just as educated as residence farmers.

• Very large farms tend to be highly educated.

Synopsis – Duality of Iowa Agriculture

Small-Farm Agriculture …

Many farms, but small impact …• 74% of farms, declining numbers over past decade.• Only 33% of farmland, declining acreages (100-250 ac/farm).• Only 20% of production value, but growing.

Poorer farms, but lots of non-farm incomes …• Intermediate – $28,500 NFCI, $71,400 HH income, 75% non-farm.• Residence – $12,500 NFCI, $130,200 HH income, 90% non-farm.• Low debt (6% debt-equity), but ½ of debt capacity.

Mixed crop & cattle specialty farms …• Intermediate – 42% corn/beans, 31% other crops, 16% cattle.• Residence – 42% other crops, 30% corn/beans, 17% cattle.

Majority are full-owners, making sole management decisions.


Small-Farm Agriculture …

Intermediate farmers older and less educated …• 13% have college degree (vs 28% for residence).• 80% over age 55 (vs 62% for residence).• Only 9% under age 45 (vs 15% for residence).

ANR programs targeting this group likely to have more participants,

but smaller and less effective impact on agriculture and environment.

Also will require more diverse programming with mixed crops.

Requires parallel programs for …

• Intermediate farms (farm occup, low income, off-farm work, older, less educated)

• Residence farms (non-farm occup, high income, highly educated, other crops).


Commercial Agriculture …

Fewer farms, but large impact …• Only 26% of farms, growing numbers.• 66% of farmland, growing acreages.• 80% of production value, growing value.

Mostly larger family farms, fewer mega or corporate farms …• 24% of farms (vs 3% for very-large/non-family).• 700-1,400 ac/farm (vs 300-2,400 ac/farm for non-family/very-large).• 69% of production value (vs 12% for very-large/non-family).

Profitable but polarized …• Mid-Sized – $218,700 NFCI, $212,000 HH income, 30% non-farm.• Large – $735,700 NFCI, $592,900 HH income, 14% non-farm.• Very Large – $3.463mil NFCI, $2.770mil HH income.• Non-Family – $203,200 NFCI.



Mid-Sized farms are specialized in corn/beans …• 68% corn/beans, 9% other crops. Some hogs.

Large farms are specialized in livestock …• 58% corn/beans, 18% hogs, 13% cattle. Some other grains.

Majority are part-owners, meaning shared management decisions (out-of-state!).

The larger the farm, the younger & educated the farmer …• Under age 45 – 19% mid-size, 23% large, 34% very-large.• College grads – 26% mid-size, 30% large, 62% very-large.



ANR programs targeting this group likely to have fewer participants,

but larger and more effective impact on agriculture and environment.

Programs can be more targeted and sophisticated because commercial farmers & farms tend to be …

• Younger and college educated.• High-resource, to implement programs on-farm (high NFCI & HH

income).• Farm-focused, farming is primary occup and livelihood.• Conventional commodities consistent with current programs.


The Janus-Face of Land Grant Universities …

Commercial-Farm Focus (Hamiltonian Vision) …• Assist those who farm most of the land and produce most of the

commodities.• National benefits (food supply/safety, trade, etc).• Why do wealthy (some very so) & educated farmers need LGU support?

Small-Farm Focus (Jeffersonian Vision) …• Assist those who farm with limited resources (land, income, educ, age,

race).• Farmer/local benefits (higher incomes and QOL for farms and

communities).• Why do non-farmers (hobbyists) need LGU support?

The data support both visions for the LGU.Decisions should be based on tradition, reason, and conscience.

Key Question: How do you define a farmer?

Thank you for joining us todayWe invite your feedback and suggestions for future ANR @ Noon webinars:

John Lawrence – [email protected]

Chris Mondak- [email protected]

Next date: September 25

Water Quality Programming:

Updates from Jamie Benning

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Date post:	02-Jan-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	amberly-wilkinson
View:	215 times
Download:	0 times

Welcome to ANR at Noon, August 28, 2015 State of the Farm: Iowa Trends During the 2000s David J....

Documents