This seems consistent with my experience working with Iowa farmers from 1997-2001. We were seeing consolidation of family farms into even larger family farms at

This seems consistent with my experience working with Iowa farmers from 1997-2001. We were seeing consolidation of family farms into even larger family farms at that time. Many small producers were forced out of business due to low commodity prices at the time. And the bulk of the landowners were cash renting their land to the producers. So, a "family farm operation" likely included land that they rented but didn't actually own. You would be shocked to learn of the amount of millionaire landowners in Iowa who live on small, humble acreages and simply rent their land to farmers. There was a large contingent of "hobby farmers" who owned land through their family, but it was a "side project" for them. They often had jobs with the USDA, etc or other sources of income. Equipment was insanely expensive and capital intensive. I'm not in the ag industry now, but computer technology in '97-'01 was like a magic elixir to farmers. Very little software existed to help them turn data into actionable information. I'm sure today it's very different. Edit: I'll add that the "state-of-the art" at that time was to use military-grade GPS receivers (which we got as a part of USDA) to track soil samples and create GIS heat maps and basic fertility plans. There were no on-board computer systems. :)