OSU Farm Management

In 2024, value added by farm establishments in the United States was 6.7 cents per dollar spent on all domestically produced food, represented in the Food Dollar. Contributing to this amount were crops (2.5 cents), livestock (3.3 cents), and forestry, fishing, and agricultural services (0.9 cents). These shares of value added, reported in the Food Dollar industry group bill, are the net proceeds by each industry group after deducting expenses paid to other industry groups. The shares depend on factors such as the mix and prices of commodities used in production, as well as the mix of food in consumer spending. USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) updated the Food Dollar in 2026 using a new model. Compared to the previous model, the new model splits farm production into three industry groups, giving a more detailed view of the contributions of farm production to the domestic value chains that produce the food U.S. consumers buy at places like grocery stores and restaurants. Results from this model are not directly comparable to previous releases. The data for this chart can be found in the ERS Food Dollar data product, updated March 10, 2026.

Read at https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/charts-of-note/chart-detail?chartId=114091

Labor efficiency is computed by dividing total labor cost (hired labor plus family and operator labor) by gross farm income. Family and operator labor can be represented by owner withdrawals. Labor productivity is computed by dividing gross farm income by the number of farm workers. This article examines labor hours per acre and labor efficiency for crop farms using FINBIN data from 2007 to 2024. Crop farms are broken down into four farm size categories: less than 500 crop acres, 500 to 1000 crop acres, 1000 to 2000 crop acres, and greater than 2000 crop acres.

Read at https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2026/01/labor-standards.html

Article by Michael Langemeier, Center for Commercial Agriculture, Purdue University

Labor Standards - farmdoc daily Michael Langemeier - This article examined labor hours per acre and labor efficiency for crop farms using FINBIN data from 2007 to 2024. Comparing the smallest and largest farm categories, labor hours were significantly lower, and labor efficiency was significantly higher for the large farms. Labor....