Shift - Share Analysis: A Modified Approach

This modified version of shift-share analysis presents components of regional economic growth in percentage terms. The version includes a comparative measure of industrial composition not present in traditional shift share. Key components of the modified approach are also shown in graph form to simplify the analysis of regional growth characteristics and the effects of change

A Profile of Female Farmers in America

Although the number of U.S. farms is dropping, the number of female farmers is rising. In 1978, about 128,000, or 5.2 percent of all U.S. farmers, were women. They tend to run smaller farms and earn less than their male counterparts. They are also older and more likely to be full owners of the land they farm

Women Farmers in America

Excerpts from the report: Just over 128,000 of the Nation's 2.5 million farms are solely or principally operated by women, or 5 percent of the total, according to the 1978 Census of Agriculture, the first census to publish data on sex of farm operators. Although male operators have historically dominated farming, females not only contribute substantially to some types of agricultural production but their numbers are also growing. U.S. Department of Labor statistics show that the number of women employed solely or principally as farm operators and managers doubled from 1970 to 1980. Because of reporting procedures, the number of female farmers is somewhat understated in the agricultural census. Most farm wives do some farmwork and many share responsibility of running the farm with their husbands, but for census reporting purposes, only one operator per farm may be designated. Operator designation is determined by the individual couple and usually the husband is selected. Females designated as operators most often run the farm enterprise alone or are widows of farmers

Farm Income Recipients and Their Families: A Socioeconomic Profile

Of the 3.1 million persons and 2.6 million families who received farm self-employment income in 1975, a larger proportion lived in nonmetropolitan than metropolitan areas and in the combined North and West than the South. Compared with the general population, recipients were more likely to be White, male, and older, and their families of the husband-wife type. Most recipients were primarily employed in agriculture, but 44 percent indicated primary employment in nonagricultural industries. The majority of farm income recipients also had income from additional sources, thus little relationship was evidenced between the level of farm income and total income

The Changing U.S. Farm Population

The U.S. farm population, unlike our growing urban and rural nonfarm populations, has declined almost continuously since early in this century. Today, only 8 million or 4 percent of the Nation's 218 million people are farm residents. When first counted in the 1920 census, the 32 million farm people accounted for nearly a third of the total population of 106 million

Structural and Financial Characteristics of U.S. Farms, 1992: 17th Annual Family Farm Report to Congress

In 1992, the United States had about 2.1 million farms, 73 percent of which were classified as "small farms" with annual gross farm sales of less than $50,000. However, the 557,613 "commercial farms" (with$50,000 or more annual gross farm sales) accounted for 88 percent of total gross farm sales and 68 percent of the acres in farms. This information is included in the 17th Annual Family Farm Report to Congress, which provides annual data on the major structural and financial characteristics of U.S. farms as portrayed by USDA's Farm Costs and Returns Survey (FCRS)

Characteristics of Large-Scale Farms, 1987

The total number of farms in the United States declined during 1982-87, continuing a long-term trend toward fewer farms. Large-scale farms (farms with annual product sales of $500,000 or more) increased during the period, both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of all farms. Although only a small fraction of all farms, large-scale farms increased their share of land in farms from 10.5 percent in 1982 to 13.0 percent in 1987 and their share of farm product sales from 32.4 percent to 38.2 percent. This report uses 1987 (the most recent data available) and earlier Census of Agriculture data to summarize the major structural and financial characteristics of large-scale farms. The report looks at how these farms are organized and their resource base and financial situation in relation to farms in general