For most U.S. farm households, income from off-farm jobs, like teaching, driving a bus, or managing a bank branch, is essential to staying afloat. According to a 2023 AFBF Market Intel Report, just 23% of farm household income came from farming itself. The remaining 77% came from other sources.
In 2023, 96% of farm operators (including principal operators and their spouses) earned money off the farm. About 72% of that off-farm income was earned, mostly through wages and salaries (61%) and non-farm businesses (11%). The other 28% came from unearned sources like Social Security, veterans’ benefits, pensions, dividends, and interest.
Smaller farms are especially reliant on outside income. Among farms with less than $100,000 in gross sales, more than 60% of operators worked off the farm at least one day during the year.