Farm Operating and Financial Characteristics, 1986

Farm operators in the United States operated nearly 1 billion acres of land in 1986. The average farm size was 652 acres. Sixty percent of farms reported debt, with an average of $107,000 per farm at the end of 1986. Farm operators had assets valued at $300,000 per reporting farm, with farm real estate representing the largest component. Gross cash farm income per farm averaged $70,600. This report provides operating and financial characteristics including farm operating expenses, land transfers and values, labor, and investment by farm size, production specialty, location, occupational specialty, legal organization, and operator age. The data come from the 1986 Farm Costs and Returns Survey