While one or two generations ago, farm families could get by on 80 to 160 acres, this study says that this amount of land probably isn't enough today. Based on an average farm family of between three and four people, an income of almost $75K is needed for living expenses - food, shelter, medical expenses, non-farm vehicles, and the like.
Based on the 2000 census, Page County's average per capita income suggests that about $57,400 was needed for an average family. That figure is estimated in year 2000 dollars.
Going with the higher amount from Hachfeld's study, a farm needed to have the following production to earn the living of $75K - which does not include farm operating costs such as input and equipment:
- 928 acres in a 50/50 corn and soybean rotation
- 10,717 head of hogs from weaning to finish
- 948 head of beef cows in a cow/calf operation
- 127 head of dairy cows
The study did not include data on poultry farming, which is a staple in Page County; I'll need to find an additional source of information for that. I also seem to remember an article this year in the Page County News and Courier which referenced a "subsistence farmer" approach that one household had adopted - they were trying to make ends meet on 100 acres, by adopting a sustainable lifestyle that went as far as owning a small herd of a special breed of cows that thrived on small farms. I'll see if I can't find that article again and post on it.
The full study is available on the University's website.
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