defn of a 'small farm'

jimg · Feb 3, 2004

defn of a \'small farm\'

I've been reading a good bit lately about farm economics and have run across the nebulous (to me anyway) term 'small farm'. What exactly is the definition of a 'small farm'? Seems that it would depend on the location and possibly production size....or maybe a combination of many quantities. Is there a std definition?

fivestring · Feb 3, 2004

Re: defn of a \'small farm\'

One that the gummit doesn't set quotas on or subsidize ?

jimg · Feb 3, 2004

Re: defn of a \'small farm\'

No, probably not. In the south its common for very small farms to get a tobacco allotment.

dmccarty · Feb 3, 2004

Re: defn of a \'small farm\'

jimg,

I just saw that a small farm was 30-50 acres. But that was a few
years ago. Most farms are getting bigger and bigger due to
economies of scale. That has been going on for decades if not
centuries but has certainly accelerated over the last few
decades.

In tobacco growing areas it used to be common to see little one
acre patches being grown. It was enough to buy a car or put a
kid through school. But this is now history as well. Not a few
years ago though...

Later,
Dan McCarty

jimg · Feb 3, 2004

Re: defn of a \'small farm\'

"I just saw that a small farm was 30-50 acres."
Where did you see this?

Yes, I recall those small tobacco plots myself. Now that tobacco use is nonPC and the big producers are diversifying thats mostly a thing of the past.

I think you couldnt live off a 30-50 acre farm though....not unless you have some very in-demand specialty crop.

dmccarty · Feb 3, 2004

Re: defn of a \'small farm\'

The "30-50" acres number was from an article in the
www.newsandobserver.com. It was over the last two
weekends that the story was published. But I think that size of
a farm was from a time ago. I do know that the Ag department
keeps a list the average farm size. I saw it years ago and they
tracked it by year. The number of farms was declining while the
size of a farm was increasing.

Later,
Dan McCarty

Bob_Skurka · Feb 3, 2004

Re: defn of a \'small farm\'

I don't know that there is any firm description that is carved in stone, it might be more regional. In Kansas a small farm might be 300 acres. In Indiana a small farm might be 50. In tobacco country it might be 2 or 3.

I think a better definition might not have anything to do with acreage at all. It might be described as any farm that is just barely large enough to support a living, or even a little less than a living, but is actively being farmed with the intent of making a profit.