Three Decades of Consolidation in U.S. Agriculture

by James M. MacDonald, Robert A. Hoppe, and Doris Newton

Crop production has seen a widespread and persistent shift of acreage and sales to larger farming operations over the last three decades. Some livestock sectors have seen dramatic structural change, but consolidation has been modest or nonexistent in pasture/grazing land and in the associated cow-calf sector. Consolidation has been facilitated by increased farm-level commodity specialization.

See related Amber Waves article: Examining Consolidation in U.S. Agriculture.

Webinar: Three Decades of Consolidation in U.S. Agriculture, Tuesday, March 27, 1 p.m. EDT

Keywords: Farm consolidation, large farms, family farms, industrial agriculture, agribusiness, concentration in agriculture, Agricultural Resources Management Survey, ARMS, Census of Agriculture

In this publication...

• Entire Report
• Report summary