Farm Operating and Financial Characteristics, 1990

An estimated 1.8 million farm operations represented in the 1990 Farm Costs and Returns Survey operated about 1 billion acres of land in 1990. Average farm size was 588 acres, but almost 44 percent of farms operated 100 acres or less. Farms VJith sales of less than $10,000 accounted for almost half of all farm operations surveyed, and another quarter of farms reported sales between $20,000 and $99,999 in 1990. Almost a fifth of farms had gross sales exceeding $100,000, and they accounted for 49 percent of land owned and 57 percent of land operated. Gross cash income for all farms exceeded a total of $121 billion in 1990, and total cash operating expenses were over $100 billion. Average net farm income was highest among the largest operations; in the Northern Plains, Mountain, and Pacific regions; on farms specializing in cotton, vegetables, nursery or greenhouse, or dairy; and on corporate farms. The average net worth per reporting farm was $356,600 in 1990. This report presents operating and financial characteristics, including farm business income, expenses, assets, and liabilities, by farm size, region, production specialty, tenure, farm organization, and selected operator characteristics. The data are for calendar year 1990 and were collected in the 1990 Farm Costs and Returns Survey.