Characteristics of Kentucky Agriculture
Kentucky agriculture is a diverse industry. We often think of agriculture only consisting of the 90,000 or so Kentucky farms. But the industry is more than production agriculture. It also includes the many firms that supply inputs to our farmers. Examples include credit, feed, seed, fertilizer/chemicals, machinery, and labor to name a few. This industry also includes the transportation and processing necessary to get food into a form that consumers are willing to buy. In fact, you can even stretch the definition of agriculture to include the many eating places and stores where consumers meet the food system and buy the many products that we eat.
But focusing on farming, did you know:
- The average size farm in Kentucky is about 150 acres compared to nearly 450 acres in U.S. Over half the farms in Kentucky are smaller than 100 acres
- Although farms are getting larger, less than 2% of Kentucky's farms are larger than 1000 acres.
- Although Kentucky has many small farms, 95% of them sell less than $100,000 per year (gross and not net). After paying expenses, that doesn't leave much income for living most years. In fact net farm income in Kentucky most years will average around $10,000. Averages are deceiving in that some farm families lose money farming most years while others make a comfortable living.
- Although we hear a great deal about "corporate" farming, the reality is that non-family corporations comprise way less than 1% of the farms in Kentucky. This statistic hasn't really changed much over the years. Some have speculated that major corporations haven't gotten into farming because the returns on assets in farming have been lower than for many other major industries.
- But the reality for those smaller operations is that they require off farm sources of income for living. The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate is that in the U.S., approximately 90% of farm family income indeed is earned at places of work other than on the farm.
Kentucky's agriculture is a diverse industry that impacts each of us either as a producer or an ultimate consumer of food. It's often characterized as an industry with a dual nature. Many smaller producers who make most of their income off farm and a relatively few larger producers who make most of their income from farming.
For More Information
For additional information, please contact, Larry Jones.