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Heterogeneity in US Farms: A New Clustering by Production Potentials

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  • Asif Rasool

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, Pennsylvania State University, 202 Armsby Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA)

  • David Abler

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, Pennsylvania State University, 202 Armsby Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA)

Abstract

This paper uses agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis to group 2778 farming-defined counties into six clusters, revealing farm patterns across the contiguous 48 states of the United States. To understand the differences in economic performance and improve farm households’ well-being, economists have endeavored to identify patterns in US farming. The US is a leading global producer and exporter of many agricultural and food products. Our primary objective is to construct a policy-relevant farm clustering to characterize agricultural homogeneity in US farms’ production potential. We identify six clusters that are relatively homogeneous in five dimensions: farm size, farm assets, farm labor, farm output, degree of mechanization, and government programs. Minimizing diversity within a cluster allows for analysis of public policy changes on specific clusters and comparison of differential effects of the change across clusters.

Suggested Citation

  • Asif Rasool & David Abler, 2023. "Heterogeneity in US Farms: A New Clustering by Production Potentials," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:2:p:258-:d:1042823
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