Do family farms exist?

A lot of words like “factory” or “industrial” are thrown around in the media and online when people talk about farming. Yet what do those words mean?

If a corn farmer has a big combine is she an industrial farmer? If several cousins form a corporation to protect their farm or take advantage of the tax code, are they a factory? What if a farmer uses fertilizer? Or herbicide? Or high-tech seed? What’s the line between a “family” and “factory” farm?

In the end, a vast majority of corn grown in the United States is grown by family farmers. In fact, U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics show that 95 percent of corn farms in the United States are family owned and operated. That’s real people, real families with grandpas, moms, sons, cousins…all working together to make their farm as successful as they can.

Maybe one family farm has 200 acres and another 2,000. In the end, it doesn’t matter, because both families want to be successful so the next generation can have their opportunity to live off the land.


Find out more about family farmers through the Corn Farmers Coalition that is active right now in Washington D.C., defending and educating about corn farmers in the U.S.!