Fruit Growers State of Industry and Decline of Family Farm Not Accurate

**The American Fruit Growers held its annual State of the Industry survey, with labor a big topic.

One-third of the respondents say labor is not an issue for them, at least not yet.

Growing Produce says that group typically has a stable team of employees, and in 20% of those cases, it includes family members.

For the remaining two-thirds of the survey responders, available labor is a huge challenge.

**Early indications suggest land auction activity will be good both before and after the 2022 harvest.

Farmers National Company says land sales typically slow during the spring and early summer, but the rate of late summer and fall auctions getting scheduled is picking up rapidly.

FNC says people are moving ahead with sales because of the historically high land prices currently in the market.

Another factor is the level of uncertainty in a number of factors, including inflation.

**The U.S. dairy industry says the “decline of the family farm” and “rise of the corporate farm” are not accurate descriptions of American agriculture.

While the number of dairy farms declined, it has not diminished the dominance of family-run dairies.

Smaller family farms often grow to accommodate additional family members coming into the operation.

Of the estimated 39,442 farms of any size with dairy cows, USDA data says more than 97% are family-operated.