The name is absent

increased from 276 acres to 340 acres; average
nominal sales per farm rose from $11,474 to
$45,052.

Also, as indicated in Table 5, the amount of
cropland in use rebounded by 1979 after a decline
in 1970. Significant gains in cropland use were
registered in the Appalachian, Southeast, and
Delta states. In the Appalachian and Southeast
areas, corn, soybeans, and wheat acreage ex-
panded, while cotton planting decreased. The
Delta states increased their acreage of soybeans
and wheat. Much of this expanded acreage, along
with land already in use, was put under irriga-
tion. A considerable increase in double cropping,
particularly wheat and soybeans, also occurred.

Although farm numbers have declined and av-
erage farm size has increased, it does not mean
that southern agriculture has become a signifi-
cantly more homogeneous sector. Table 6 con-
tains a breakdown of production by sales class
for 1978. In the southern region, there are essen-
tially three groups of agricultural producers.
First, there are producers reporting less than
$2,500 in annual sales. Although they represent
nearly one-third of all farms, they contribute only
1 percent of total sales in the region. These are
perhaps best thought of as “rural residence”
farms.¹ A second group of farms has sales rang-
ing from $2,500 to $40,000 annually. Over one-
half of all farms are included in this group, and
they generate about 18 percent of total sales.
These farms are typically referred to as “small”
farms. Finally, there are farm businesses that
have over $40,000 in annual sales. Less than 15
percent of all farms are in this class, having sales
that account for more than 80 percent of those
reported in the region. This latter group includes
the “primary” farms of southern agriculture.

As might be expected, the concentration of
production tends to differ somewhat when
viewed for individual commodities and produc-
ing areas. To better understand how variability in
export demand affects the South’s farmers, it is

TABLE 6. Concentration of Agricultural Pro-
duction, Southern Region, 1978

Source: Calculated from 1978 Census of Agriculture, U.S.
Department of Commerce.

useful to examine the concentration of produc-
tion on a more disaggregate basis (Appendix Ta-
bles A-l-A-7).

Corn production in the southern region tends
to be somewhat less concentrated than total
production would suggest. Farmers growing corn
also produce other crops, including soybeans,
peanuts, and tobacco, as well as raising live-
stock. Of the region’s cash corn producers, those
with annual sales in excess of $40,000 (although
not necessarily all from corn) made up less than
one-fifth of all such farms in 1978, while produc-
ing nearly three-fourths of the corn. In the Delta
states, there were relatively fewer “primary”
corn farms, which means that production was
generally in the hands of smaller farmers. The
Appalachian and Southeast states saw about
one-fifth of their cash corn farmers raising two-
thirds of their crop. Farmers growing corn in the
Southern Plains were somewhat larger, with
one-third in the “primary” category contributing
more than 90 percent of production.

In the case of soybeans, one-third of all pro-
ducers had sales of $40,000 or more (although,
again, not necessarily from soybeans alone).
Soybean production is a strong complement to
cotton and rice throughout the region. The “pri-
mary” farmers who grow soybeans account for
more than three-quarters of the South’s soybean
production.

Cotton farming tends to involve a smaller
number of large producers—a greater proportion
are categorized as “primary.” With the excep-
tion of the Appalachian states, about one-half of
all cotton farmers have annual sales in excess of
$40,000. These larger producers account for 80 to
90 percent of the region’s total cotton output.
Rice production also exhibits larger levels of
concentration. More than three-quarters of all
rice farmers have sales in excess of $40,000 an-
nually. These “primary” producers grow nearly
all the region’s rice.

Tobacco farmers show modest levels of con-
centration. Only a relatively small number of
producers fit the “primary” designation; of those
that do, slightly over one-half of all tobacco
production is attributable to them.

Arising out of these concentration data are two
points of particular note. First, “primary” pro-
ducers in the South tend to account for much of
the agricultural production in the region—in
aggregate and for individual commodities. How
these larger farms respond to variation in prices
and receipts is therefore basic to an understand-
ing of the impact of exports on southern agricul-
ture. Second, there are many “rural residence”
and “small” farms that also will be affected by
variation in exports; their response is likely to be
quite different from that of the ‘ ‘primary’ ’ farms.

ɪ Although this characterization holds at the national level, it is recognized that many of these units in the South are more typically farms in rural poverty.

32

<<   <   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   >   >>