Farm Operator Characteristics: Implications for Policy

Use of a single measure, annual gross sales, to define the alleged emerging bimodal structure of U.S. agriculture has serious limitations and implications for: (1) targeting public policy interventions, (2) the structure of research and extension programs at Land Grant Universities, (3) public administrative agencies, (4) farm organizations and (5) farm operators. The authors conclude that multi-dimensional specification of current and emerging farm structures is essential to determine impacts of public and private programs targeted at the farm operator level. This conclusion was the result of analyzing relationships of nine economic and demographic factors to annual gross sales.