WHO OWNS THE LAND? A PRELIMINARY REPORT FOR THE WESTERN STATES

Farmers and farm managers are the largest single group of landowners in the twelve Western States; they own 63 percent of all private noncorporate holdings and over 70 percent of land in farms, according to a 1978 ESCS survey of privately owned farm and ranch land, other rural land, and urban land. Sole proprietors and husband and wives own over 55 percent of all farmland, 1 percent of all ownership units own about 70 percent of all privately held land, and about 50 percent of the land is held by people over 55 years old. Report also classes landcwnership by race, sex, method and date of acquisition, residence, and education