Farm Land Ownership in the United States

Excerpts from the report: The first information on farm-land ownership for the Nation was published in the 1900 Census of Agriculture, but it provided data only on a few items applying to owners of rented lands. Later, a similar study based upon data from the 1920 Census and mailed questionnaires was made of 184 selected counties. During the last decade or so, occasional local studies of farm ownership have been made in scattered areas. The information supplied by these studies is either out of date or is very fragmentary. More comprehensive up-to-date data are necessary to meet current demands and to point toward emerging land-ownership problems. The study reported in this publication was designed to fulfill in part that need. It is concerned chiefly with the ownership of farm land in the United States by individuals, although it also provides some estimates on the farm land that is held by corporations, public agencies, and other types of owners. Detailed information on the following major questions was assembled for individuals: 1. What are the characteristics of individuals who own farm land, in terms of sex. age, occupation, residence, and experience, and how much land do they own in terms of acres and value? 2. Under what kinds of operating tenure is the land held—part- owner operator, owner operator, owner-operator-landlord, and landlord? 3. To what extent is land held under various methods of ownership—full ownership, purchase contract, undivided interest, and life estate? 4. How did the various kinds of owners acquire ownership of their present holdings? 5. What plans do present owners have for transfer of ownership, particularly to the next generation?