Financial and Structural Characteristics of CRP Enrollees, 1991

Farms with CRP enrollment, about 9 percent of all farms, were indicated to be more profitable, more efficient in terms of cost, and larger in terms of annual sales and acres operated than non-CRP enrollees. Almost one-third of CRP payments made to farm businesses went to farms reporting no production (whole-farm enrollees). Whole-farm enrollees represented about one-third of all CRP enrollees. Operators of these farms were older than average, supplied little operator labor, did not consider farming as their primary occupation, and received most of their household income from off-farm sources. Also, these operators had little investment in equipment or livestock and relied on the CRP for a large share of their gross cash farm income. In contrast, farm operators reporting production (part-farm enrollees) were more likely to consider farming as their primary occupation, and received most of their household income from farming. Impacts on farm-level income of the elimination of CRP depend largely on the ability of the operator to generate income from these acres. Whole-farm enrollees were more sensitive to program changes.