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FARM EMPLOYMENT:
2.897.000 TOTAL
1.846.000 FAMILY MEMBERS
1.051,000 HIRED WORKERS
NUMBER OF FARMS:
12,176.000
TOTAL LAND IN FARMS (millions of hectares):
406.1
AVERAGE HECTARES PER FARM:
1187
NUMBER OF FARMS BY TYPE OF ORGANIZATION
(percentage, 2002):
86.9 INDIVIDUAL OR FAMILY-OWNED
10.0 PARTNERSHIPS
2.7 CORPORATIONS
FARM AREA BY TYPE OF ORGANIZATION (percentage,
2002):
68.9 INDIVIDUAL OR FAMILY-OWNED
16.3 PARTNERSHIPS
13.6 CORPORATIONS
GROSS FARM INCOME (thousand million dollars):
3169,800
American farmland is among the richest and most varied in the
world, in part, this is due to the United States' vast size; in part, to
nature's generosity. Deserts exist only in a relatively small area of the
West. Elsewhere, rainfall ranges from modest to abundant, and rivers
and underground water permit extensive irrigation. Large areas of
land - especially in the midwestern Great Plains - provide ideal
conditions for large-scale agriculture.