The financial performance gap between large and small American crop farms may be narrowing, according to new research examining nearly two decades of farm financial records. Purdue University agricultural economist Michael Langemeier analyzed FINBIN data covering 2007 through 2025. The study compared farms operating fewer than 500 crop acres with operations exceeding two thousand acres. Researchers found average operating profit margins were nearly identical, at approximately twenty percent regardless of farm size. Growth in net worth also showed relatively little difference.

<p>By: NATHAN STUEDLE</p><p>The financial performance gap between large and small American crop farms may be narrowing, according to new research examining nearly two decades of farm financial records. Purdue University agricultural economist Michael Langemeier analyzed FINBIN data covering 2007 through 2025. The study compared farms operating fewer than 500 crop acres with operations exceeding two thousand acres. Researchers found average operating profit margins were nearly identical, at approximately twenty percent regardless of farm size. Growth in net worth also showed relatively little difference.</p>

Financial gap narrowing between large and small crop farms