American family farms are getting squeezed from both ends. The report finds that 9 in 10 Americans were farmers at the nation’s founding, and fewer than 2 percent are today. The number of farms declined 10 percent between 2012 and 2022 to about 1.9 million, while the average farm size grew 5 percent.
Cole Carpenter runs a farm near Leoti, Kansas, that has been in his family since the late 1800s. He sold 800 acres two years ago to put capital back into the operation. His operation has grown to 10,000 acres, added cattle, and a crop spraying business.
Carpenter says the pressure is real. “This corn should be six feet tall,” he said. “It’s tough, no matter which way you look at it.”
He also said, “All the technology, all the seed we have, we’re able to grow more, but it also comes with a cost.” And, “I think the American farmer and rancher is kind of caught in a wicked loophole. You know what I mean? We’re just trying to survive.”
The report ties the current squeeze to a long history of consolidation. Sarah Mock, who met at Old Town Farm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said, “That is basically the road we have been on since then. Farms have continued to get bigger. We have seen a huge drop-off in the total number of farmers.”
Just 4 percent of farms now account for more than half of all agricultural sales. The pattern dates back to the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, which devastated farming and forced many farmers off their land. Grant Wood’s American Gothic, painted in 1930, captured a stoic farmer and his daughter — an iconic image of the American farmer.
The numbers behind the squeeze
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Farmers at founding | 9 in 10 Americans |
| Farmers today | Fewer than 2 percent |
| Farms declined 2012–2022 | 10 percent |
| Farms remaining | About 1.9 million |
| Average farm size growth | 5 percent |
| 800 acres sold | To fund farm expansion |
| Family land acquired | Late 1800s |
What Carpenter said
Dale Appl told his grandson in 2006 to have another profession. “He could still farm on the side,” Carpenter recalled. “And he might have to yet. I don’t know. It’s pretty tough.”
Carpenter acknowledged the decision was hard. “Oh, yes, 100 percent, yes, yes,” he said. “I mean, that — it doesn’t go easily. But at the same time, the less debt, the less stress was an easier decision there.”
He also noted the irony of success. “Yes, farming is a gamble,” he said.
The bigger picture
The report’s broader argument is that the American farmer is caught between two forces. On one side, technology and consolidation have made farming more efficient and profitable for the largest operations. On the other, the costs — financial, physical, and emotional — have risen for those who hold on.
Mock framed the shift as a move away from Jefferson’s yeoman ideal. “Jefferson crafted this, like, yeoman idea of people who are close to the land,” she said.
The report presents the pressure as ongoing. Carpenter’s story is one example of a larger trend.
What the story raises
The trend lines are clear. Fewer farmers hold more of the production. The small family farm, the kind that defined rural America for generations, is becoming rarer.
Whether that is good or bad depends on where you sit. For the people who farm, the question is personal: can they keep doing it, and if not, what comes next?
The story raises the question without answering it. Carpenter’s answer, when pressed, was honest: “We’re just trying to survive.”
Where the paper stands
The paper backs Cole Carpenter and his family farm near Leoti, Kansas, and is against the concentration of agricultural power that squeezes independent farmers from both ends. The report’s own numbers show that 9 in 10 Americans were farmers at the nation’s founding, and fewer than 2 percent are today. Just 4 percent of farms now account for more than half of all agricultural sales.
The paper is for small business. Between the independent and the giant, or the independent and the bureaucracy, it backs the independent. Carpenter’s story shows the pressure in plain terms: he sold 800 acres to fund his operation’s expansion, and he admits the decision was hard.
The report ties the current squeeze to a long history of consolidation. Farms have continued to get bigger, and the total number of farmers has dropped sharply. The pattern dates back to the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, which devastated farming and forced many farmers off their land. Carpenter himself acknowledged the irony of success: “Yes, farming is a gamble.”
Source material: “What's making it harder for American family farms to survive,” PBS.
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