Page 12 - Farm and Food Policy Strategies for 2040 Series

The rising number and share of American farms operated by women also points to increased
ownership. It’s true that farms owned by women are, on average, much smaller than average,
with gross sales only about a fourth of the national farm average, according to USDA. Keep in
mind that USDA defines a farm as any place that produced and sold at least $1,000 of
agricultural products during a given year.

However, USDA’s census records a run-up in women as the principal operators: from one in 20
farms a half century ago to one in seven in 2012. Besides, “smaller family farm operators are
more likely to be full owners of land they operate,” USDA says.

Critical, too, to the ownership scene is land leaving agriculture – more than 1.5 million
acres a year, on average, of cropland and range from 1992 through 2012. According to AFT,
over 70 % of urban development and 62% of all development happened on agricultural land,
including woodlands that were part of farms.

At the same pace, more than 43 million more U.S. farmland acres – about 5% of the nation’s
farmland – will no longer belong to any farmer but will become urban, industrial, commercial,
residential properties and highways from 2012 to 2040.

Finally, here’s something unlikely to change much: the rented share of farmland.

Nationwide, “more than half of cropland is rented, compared with just over 25% of pastureland,”
ERS says in its 2014 report. In general, rental activity is concentrated where grains, oilseeds,
cotton and other major field crops are grown, and over 50% of farmland is rented in such areas.

But USDA’s census recorded the share of U.S. farm and ranch lands overall that were leased as
38% in 1964 and 1969. The share was still 38% in the 2012 census, and the ERS 2014 survey
pegs the share at 39%.

The Disruptors: Six trends that will shape the future structure of U.S. agriculture

Farmers and ranchers have long been known for adapting
and innovating, but new research challenges whether they
are looking deep enough over the horizon to really win in the
future.

“There are six forces of change in the industry that are pretty
compelling,” says Brett Sciotto, CEO of Aimpoint Research,
a global marketing research firm that has done extensive
work analyzing current agricultural trends and identifying
the “Farmer of the Future.”

Aimpoint CEO Brett Sciotto “If you look at them collectively, it’s pretty indicative
that we are going through a transformative period that’s

only accelerating.” Consider these six trends:

10 www.Agri-Pulse.com