Title: The Importance of Family Farms

Introduction: Family owned farms are the backbone of agriculture in the United States.
Supporting point 1: The number of family owned farms is increasing
 97% of the 2.1 million US farms are family owned (2012)
 86 % of the 2.2 million US farms are family owned (2007)
 89 % of the 2.1 million US farms are family owned (2002)
Supporting point 2: 88 percent of all the US farms are small family farms, 6 percent are
midsized family farms, 3 percent are large family farms, and 3 percent are non-family
owned farms.
Supporting point 3: 58 percent of all direct farm sales to consumers come from small
family farms.
Supporting point 4: 18 percent of principal operators on family farms in the U.S. started
within the last 10 years.
Supporting point 5: Of all family farms in 2012, 32% specialized in beef cattle, 25%
specialized in combination crops, 14% specialized in oilseed and grains, 12% specialized
in combination livestock, 9% specialized in specialty crops, and 8% specialized in other.
Conclusion: Do you know which type of farm you are buying your food from?
Sources for Statistical Data: https://www.agcensus.usda.gov 2012 Census of Agriculture and
2007 Census of Agriculture