Comparing the incomes of farmers and non-farmers reveals several important points.

• 1. Historically, comparatively low incomes have been the clearest sign of a farming problem. In the past, farmers' incomes were usually much smaller than non-farm incomes. For example, in the early 1960s, farm income was only about ¼ of the income of non-farmers. In the early 1980s, the ratio of farm to non-farm income again fluctuated around 80%.
• 2. In last years the gap between farm and non-farm incomes has narrowed. Indeed, during the agricultural "boom" of the mid-1970s, farm family incomes actually exceeded those of non-farm families. The situation has been the same in recent years. For example, in 1985 the average income of farm families was $29,436. compared with the national average - 29066 dollars. The corresponding figures for 1986 are $34,305. for farmers and 30759 dollars. for the economy as a whole. It should be noted, however, that a significant portion of farm income is the result of government subsidies.
• 3. As both the above comment and our previous discussion of the history of the farm problem show, farm incomes are much more volatile than non-farm incomes.
• 4. Although farm and non-farm incomes have been quite comparable in recent years, farm incomes are very unevenly distributed. We therefore find that in 1986 about 20% of the farming population lived in poverty, compared with less than 14% for the economy as a whole.
• 5. The improvement in the well-being of farm families compared to non-farm families in a historical context mainly reflects the increase in income of farm families from non-agricultural activities. This means that many farming families, especially those with low farming incomes, farming also receive significant income from off-farm work. If you look at the end of columns 5 and 6 of Table 1, you will notice that in 1987 the average farm income per farm was $21,545. (below the national average), but the average income from receipts from all sources (agricultural plus non-agricultural production) was $43,037. This latter figure was above the national average. Columns 5 and 6 of Table 1 also show that the four lowest income groups (all farms with annual total sales of less than $40,000) received most of their income from non-agricultural production activities.

Let's take a closer look at Table 1 to appreciate the large income disparities that exist in agriculture. In fact, there are three completely different groups of farms in the farming sector.

Group 1. Out of 2.2 million farms in the country, 14% of farms with annual cumulative sales of 100 thousand dollars. and above accounted for about 71% of total production. These large commercial farms earn long-run average incomes that are much higher than those of non-farm families, as shown in column 6 of Table 1.

Group 2. At the other extreme are those 1.6 million farms whose combined annual sales do not reach $40,000. Although they make up about 73% of total number farms, they account for less than 15% of total farm output. These farms are essentially rural homes, or so-called amateur farms, and are too small to provide sufficient income for a family. Such families rely mainly on off-farm employment for income. As column 5 of Table 1 shows, most of these farms earn negligible or even negative income from farming. The average income of this group is significantly lower than the average income for the economy as a whole.

Group 3. About 286,000 farms fall into the category of farms with combined sales of $40,000 to $100,000. Their share is about 13% of the total number of farms, and their owners receive about 14% of total farm income. Although such farms tend to absorb all the time of their owners, they are too small to generate income comparable to non-farm incomes. The average income from farming on Group 3 farms in 1987 was $1X713. compared with 30853 dollars. for the economy as a whole.

At the risk of getting ahead of ourselves, we note that these differences greatly complicate farm policy. There is little or no point in formulating programs to meet the perceived needs of the "typical" farming family. Group 1 large farms do not need subsidies in the long run, but, as we shall see, they do face serious short-term income instability problems. Group 2 small farms do not benefit much from existing farming policies, as the share of subsidies in farm income varies with production, and production on these farms is very low. In fact, the existence of this group means that a significant number of human and material resources could be moved from Agriculture, without causing a significant reduction in the total volume of agricultural production.

It is interesting to note from table 1 that the total sales of almost 40% of all farms do not exceed 5 thousand dollars, and their production is only 3.6% of the total farm products! A workforce training system and overall macroeconomic prosperity may be more important than farm policy in boosting this group's relatively low incomes. Medium-sized farms in Group 3 face both low income and income volatility at the same time.

How to make money on a farm?

Do you have an idea to start a farm but don't know where to start? Let's try to figure out how to open a farm from scratch, and what is required for this.

Let's start with a definition. So, peasant farming is commercial organization, which, usually acting on a family basis, produces agricultural products with the aim of selling them for profit. Moreover, a farm can only be called an enterprise where more than 70% of the total income is earned through the sale of agricultural products.

In recent years, our state has implemented a number of programs aimed at the development and support of farms and identified tax breaks for their owners. Thanks to this, farming, as a species entrepreneurial activity, has become very promising in Russia. Let us now find out where to start a farm, what expenses will be required and how to successfully start in the agricultural business. First you need to choose the direction of future activity - it can be breeding or growing.

Branches for breeding

- Animal husbandry: pigs, goats, sheep, cows, horses, rabbits.;
- fish farming: trout, carp, sturgeon, silver carp, pike, carp, catfish;
- poultry farming: laying hens, broilers, ducks, geese, turkeys, ostriches, pheasants;
- beekeeping.

What can be grown

- Vegetables: cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, eggplants, pumpkins, potatoes, carrots;
- fruits and berries: melons, watermelons, apricots, pears, apples, strawberries, cherries, cherries, prunes, plums;
- greens: parsley, dill, onion, garlic;
- grain crops: wheat, oats, barley, rye, corn, millet, sunflower, buckwheat.

Of course, this is not a complete list of what you can plant on your agricultural plot, but here are the most common and traditional crops that are in demand in Russia every year.

What type of activity can be chosen additionally

When compiling a business plan for farming, take into account the fact that the undeniable advantage of farming is the opportunity to receive additional income (often even more significant) from each main activity.

Eg:

- if you decide to grow fruits and vegetables, an additional activity may be the production of frozen vegetables and fruits;
- if you decide to start breeding cows or pigs, then in addition you can produce stew, sausages and other meat delicacies. In the case of cows, you can also profit from the sale of dairy products: milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, cheese and others;
- if you decide to grow crops, you can organize the production of flour, various kinds of cereals, or open your own bakery, selling various bakery products.

We draw up documents

Next, we will talk about how to open a farm, about the rights to create it, and directly about the registration procedure. The main document that determines the procedure for the formation of the property of a peasant farm is the Law “On Peasant (Farm) Farming” No. 74-FZ of June 11, 2003 (amended on December 28, 2010 N 420-FZ).

According to clause 1 of article 3 of this law, any capable citizen of the Russian Federation, a foreign citizen, a stateless person has the right to create a peasant farm. Paragraph 2 of the same article states that the following persons can act as members of this household: spouses and their parents, their grandparents, children, sisters, brothers, grandchildren (3 families, no more). And also children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, having reached the age of 16, have the right to become members of this economy. In addition, they may be persons who are not relatives of the head, however, there may be more than five people.

Article 4 states that the creation of a farm by one person does not require the conclusion of an agreement, several citizens who decide to create a joint farm are required to conclude an agreement on joint activities.

Article 5 describes the procedure for registering a peasant farm, in addition, it is indicated that the date of creation is the date of its creation. state registration in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Registration procedure

- Pay the state duty;
- notarize the application for registration;
- prepare and submit the necessary package of documents to the IFTS;
- get ready registration documents;
- register with the Funds;
- receive a letter from Rosstat with statistics codes;
- open a bank account.

If the question is How to get a loan to develop a small business from scratch? , then follow the link and find out on the site how and where you can get such a loan, how banks consider your request, and what you first need to pay attention to when applying for a loan. The most responsible and reliable banks are at your service.

If you are not a pensioner and do not work, then you can apply to the employment service with an application to include you in the self-employment program. Then it will be possible to receive from the state from 50 to 60 thousand rubles for opening an individual entrepreneur in the agricultural sector.

A farm is an agricultural enterprise operating on private and/or leased land, using family and/or wage labor, and produces agricultural products for sale on the market in order to meet personal and production needs.

In the literature there are the concepts of "farm" and "peasant" economy. These concepts arose and are historically associated with two paths of development of capitalism in agriculture: American and Prussian.

The fast way of transition of agriculture from subsistence to commodity is called American, and the slow way is called Prussian. Hence the terminology. An agricultural enterprise in the USA is a farm, and in Germany it is a peasant farm. The owner of a farm is called a farmer, and the owner of a peasant farm is called a Bauer (peasant). Now there is no significant difference between farming and peasant farming. Although the Law of Ukraine "On farming (peasant) economy" fixes these terms.

Prices for agricultural products show a downward trend relative to other prices. This is evidenced by the data of world markets over the past 100 years. However, what is the reason for this process? Such an argument is possible.

Under the influence of a natural increase in the productivity of agricultural production, the supply curve of its products shifts to the right. However, the growth of production is faced with inelastic (in terms of both price and income) demand - and a fall in the relative prices of agricultural products becomes inevitable.

Let's consider the main milestones in the dynamics of world prices for agricultural products.

In the middle of the 19th century, prices for agricultural products, in particular for grain, were stable and relatively low due to the fact that the governments of European countries abolished import duties. Perhaps because world trade in agricultural products at that time was still not very significant. However, since 1870, US grain exports have grown rapidly. In addition, grain exports from Russia, Canada and Australia are growing. As a result, in 1895 the price of grain in Europe fell by half. This situation threatened national production and therefore at the end of the 19th century. governments are resorting to a resurgence of agricultural protectionism.

Almost all European countries introduce increased duties on the main types of agricultural products. Protectionist measures somewhat slowed down the fall in prices, but did not completely stop this process.

During World War I, the demand for food increased. As a result, prices are rising. In the post-war period, agricultural production gradually increases and prices fall. By the middle of 1929, world wheat reserves amounted to 28 million tons, which exceeded the world annual export. Exporting countries were forced to get rid of excess stocks at dumping prices, resulting in 1932. Wheat prices are almost halved. Governments once again resort to protectionism and, before World War II, grain prices return to pre-Depression levels.

In the last 50 years, prices for agricultural products have been increasing slightly. However, this growth is a consequence of state rather than market regulation of the development of the agricultural sector.

In a normal situation, an increase in price leads to an increase in the quantity supplied and a decrease in the quantity demanded, and vice versa. These two quantities may be in balance. However, this is not required.

An example of market disequilibrium, characteristic of some agricultural products, is cyclical fluctuations around the equilibrium point.

Cyclic fluctuations can occur under the following circumstances:

a) there are so many producers that each of them has little influence on all. This is exactly the situation in agriculture;

b) there is a certain delay, more or less the same for. all producers, between the adoption of production decisions and the corresponding changes in the volume of production. For agricultural crops, this delay is one year, for garden crops (apple, pear, cherry, etc.) - 5-7 years, in pig breeding - less than a year, beef cattle breeding- 1.5-2 years, etc.;

c) if a product is produced that quickly deteriorates, then it should be sold in the near future. It is unprofitable to regulate the supply of such products by warehousing them. This is the basis for cyclicality;

d) production decisions are greatly influenced by current prices. However, each manufacturer acts pragmatically. There would be no cycle if most manufacturers acted rationally. In a typical cycle, initially high prices stimulate optimistic production decisions by most producers. As a result, the market supply increases sharply, prices fall. Under this circumstance, most manufacturers decide to reduce production. A drop in supply leads to a new price increase, and so on.

Graphically, this process of cyclic oscillations around the equilibrium point is illustrated in Fig. 1.

On fig. 1 shows that over time 1 the price P and the output Q periodically change in opposite directions. The duration of the cycle from one peak to the next is two production periods, i.e. two years for cereals.

In a traditional price-output chart (Figure 2), an increase in price first causes an increase in output. Further, this volume becomes excessive relative to

Rice. 1. Cobweb-like model of time cyclicity of price P and production volumes Q

Rice. 2. Web pattern: repeat cycle

Rice. 3. Cobweb Model: Converging Cycle

Rice. 4. Web-like model: divergent cycle

demand - the price falls. Then production is reduced and a new cycle begins.

Depending on the ratio of the slopes of the supply and demand curves, the cycle can coincide (fade out) (Fig. 3) or scatter (increase) (Fig. 4).

Graphs in fig. C 4 shows dependence: the more demand is inelastic relative to supply, the more likely it is that the cycle will be divergent.

Markets for fruits, vegetables, pork, lamb, poultry, eggs and the like tend to be cyclical. However, cyclical phenomena do not occur in the markets of grain, milk, etc.

In advanced agriculture, the basic production unit is the family farm.

Family farms can be so small that there is not enough income for the family. Therefore, family members try to look for additional work within the farm: renting out rooms to tourists, providing parking spaces, etc.

There is evidence that owners of family farms in the EU receive a third of their income from the farm. The low income of the farmer limits the hiring of labor, although he partially hires workers for seasonal work(harvest of grapes, hops, strawberries, cherries, strawberries, citrus fruits).

Hired agricultural workers do not count on high wages: on average, their wages are 3/4 of the wages of an industrial worker. The reasons for this are as follows:

a) agricultural workers are little mobile and relatively redundant due to the mechanization of production;

b) agricultural workers accept lower wages because they get non-standard, creative, different, non-monotonous, responsible work;

c) have free access to agricultural products (you can eat)

d) get cheap housing along with work. Concerning small farms that carry out simple reproduction, the Russian professor A. Chayanov concluded that an increase in the price of a product can, starting from a certain moment, cause a drop in the supply.

In this regard, the individual supply curve will have a curved shape (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5. Curved small farmer supply curve

The price rises from P1 to P2, and the volume of an individual offer, instead of increasing, decreases from Q1 to Q2.

IN this case profit is not maximized, but revenue (total income) increases. This conclusion is clear, since the area of ​​rectangle A, which shows the increase in revenue from an increase in price, is greater than the area of ​​rectangle B, which shows the loss of revenue from a decrease in the quantity supplied.

If the supply curve of an individual farm can sometimes be bent, then the supply curve of an industry cannot be. In any case, there is no empirical confirmation of such a phenomenon. An increase in prices always causes an increase in the quantity supplied, and it is very difficult to separate the movement along the supply curve from the displacement of the curve itself as a result of, for example, improvements in technology.

Some data on farm incomes are regularly published in monthly magazine USDA "AgricuItural Outlook". The Ministry publishes more complete information in the yearbook ((National Financial Summary".

It should be noted that the average income per farming household cannot be calculated by dividing the total income of the agricultural sector by the number of farms. A significant part of the income of this sector is received by non-farm enterprises, especially those that transport and sell products produced by farmers (pigs, chickens, vegetables, etc.) and supply some inputs to farmers (feed, seeds, fertilizers, etc.). In addition, the income of one farm can be shared among several households. In this regard, the analysis carried out by K. McConnell and S. Brew in their textbook "Economics" is not entirely correct.

Prices and incomes are a pressing issue for farmers. Let us consider this in more detail, using the tools of microeconomic analysis.

DEVELOPMENT OF AIC

CLASSIFICATION OF FARMS IN CONSIDERATION OF FOREIGN FARMING EXPERIENCE

A. A. NIKITINA, candidate economic sciences, associate professor of the department accounting and analysis E-mail: aa_n [email protected]. ru Bashkir State Agrarian University

According to the methodology adopted in the USA, all farms, depending on the volume of production, are divided into three groups - large, medium and small. In domestic practice, there is no single methodology for determining the amount of production in farms. Having studied Foreign experience in determining the value of production in farms, the author offers his own methodological approach to solving this problem.

Keywords: farms, classification, production size, family farms, marketability, sales volume.

According to the US Economic Research Agency, the United States has adopted a classification of farms based on purpose, strategy to achieve that goal, use and control of resources, and economic outcomes. The typology of American farms includes the following three types: small family farms, large family farms, non-family farms. In turn, they are divided into subspecies with clear specific features.

1. Small family farms: - farms with limited resources. Sales less than $100,000 per year, asset value less than $150,000, owner's average annual income less than $20,000;

Isolated farms. Farms are characterized by closeness and remoteness. Produce products only for their own consumption;

Family farms. Small farms, characterized by the use of the funds of one family without the involvement of hired labor and without additional sources of income;

Family farms with the involvement of labor. They are classified into low-income farms with sales under $100k and high-income farms with sales between $100k and $249.9k.

2. Large family farms:

Large family farms with sales from $250,000 to $499,900;

Very large family farms with sales in excess of $500,000 per year.

3. Non-family farms:

Farming is organized on the basis of partnership or cooperation with a highly organized management structure.

This classification is based on the belonging of a farm to a family business or partnership and ownership. About 90% of all farms in the United States were family farms, according to an analytical agency.

practically exclude the organization of a farm on the basis of cooperation or a corporation with the introduction of a highly organized management system. Family farms are fairly closed organizational and legal forms controlled by the head (owner) of the farm. The entire production process in this case depends on the efficiency of daily decision-making by one owner - the head of the family and the labor of family members.

As for other family or non-family farms, classification features such as the presence of hired labor, contractual arrangements, part-time work and other sources of income arise.

The sales volume measure for estimating the size of farms is most often taken into account when agricultural prices change, which affect the income of the farmer, but at a constant volume of production in kind.

In Germany, a family farm is a single-person farm managed by one person. According to the law on agricultural statistics, in Germany, a farm is considered as a farm, in which at least 1 hectare of agricultural land, or 8 heads of large cattle fattening, or 8 pigs, or 50 sheep, or 200 laying hens, or 0.3 ha of orchards, or 0.1 ha of greenhouses, or a combination different types activities that ensure the production of products not less than the average cost marketable products from 1 hectare of agricultural land. On average, one farm in Germany accounted for 27.4 hectares of agricultural land, and the annual income of a peasant farm was 114 thousand marks.

In Germany, statistics divide peasant farms into two groups:

Group I - farms with the main employment, which provide employment for at least 0.75 of the average annual worker and at least 50% of family income;

Group II a - farms with additional employment, that is, they are essentially subsidiary.

Germany is a country of predominantly small family farms. Larger farms are located mainly in Schleswig-Holstein and in the east of Lower Saxony. Small farms predominate in Central and Southern Germany.

Agriculture in Poland is characterized by a large heterogeneity in the size of farms: from farms with an area of ​​1 hectare to farms with an area of ​​several thousand hectares. The latter are available in both the private and public sectors. The largest farms were created on the basis of former state agricultural organizations. The problem of fragmentation of farms exists only in the sector of family farms. The average size of individual agriculture is 7.5 hectares of agricultural land, with great regional heterogeneity. In the south of Poland, an average farm has about 3.3 hectares, in the northwest - more than 20 hectares of agricultural land. And although the number of farms with an area of ​​more than 10 hectares is only 20%, they use over 60% of agricultural land. The consolidation of farms is a constant process, which is supported by preferential loans.

In Hungary, the number of farmers and small individual farms has increased, but almost half of them work, in essence, as contracting units of the same agricultural cooperatives. This type of relationship between private traders and agricultural organizations, which is not inculcated in Russia, arose in Hungary long before the 1990s. Labor productivity in Hungarian cooperatives has increased dramatically over the past 10 years, and the number of employees has decreased by 3 times. Here there was no land restitution, as in Germany, but the former owners of the nationalized land received compensation in the form of securities - bonds. These bonds could be used to buy land, a shop, a restaurant, and it was also possible to pledge them to a bank. About 40% of the residents who received bonds bought land, some of which were leased to cooperatives and have income from this. The land market is expanding, although there are certain restrictions: the area of ​​private ownership cannot exceed 300 hectares.

Based on the comparative analysis the following conclusions can be drawn.

Market transformations in the countries of Central Europe and the USA led to the modernization of agriculture in favor of farming, but with the preservation of part of the cooperatives (Hungary, Germany). Most successfully, with the growth of labor productivity, the reform of agricultural production was carried out in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and in the eastern lands of Germany. But there were also some negative

consequences: the total volume of agro-industrial production as a whole decreased, the number of unemployed increased.

In Russia, the institution of a peasant (farm) economy (hereinafter referred to as the KFH), introduced Civil Code RF in the early 1990s. and fixed federal law dated 11.06.2003 No. 74-FZ "On the peasant (farm) economy", does not encourage agricultural producers to have the status of this very peasant (farm) economy. It is more profitable for many farmers to work in the form of a personal subsidiary farm than to have the status of a peasant farm, since the management of a commercial private subsidiary farm does not imply the formation financial statements exempt from taxes and state fees, filing a tax return, frees the head of a personal subsidiary plot from paperwork and unnecessary expenses. Basically, peasant farms are registered in the event of the association of several citizens, one of whom becomes the head of the farm.

Eliminating institutional defects by improving legislation would be beneficial for both farmers and the state, since this would eliminate the distortion of statistics. Based on the experience of Germany, which adopted the Law on Agricultural Statistics, which regulates classification issues farms into family and farm enterprises, depending on the area of ​​agricultural land and the number of farm animals, in Russia it would be possible without much hassle and with the benefit of the agricultural producer to transfer large personal subsidiary farms to the category of farms, especially since peasant farms are created in our country without forming a legal entity.

After analyzing the experience of farming in foreign countries, the author proposes to take three main features as the basis for assessing the value of production in Russian farms:

1) the area of ​​agricultural land;

2) total income;

3) marketability.

The first feature is the area of ​​cultivated agricultural land. The results of the study show that 72.1% of farms in the Republic of Bashkortostan have land plots up to 50 hectares and are small, which occupy only 10.4% of the land area provided for farms. IN

At the same time, in the Republic of Bashkortostan there are large farms with land plots of 200 hectares or more, which account for 8.7% of the total number of farms, but occupy 76.1% of the total land area (Table 1).

According to the size of cultivated land plots, the author proposes to distinguish the following classification groups of peasant farms:

1) small farms - with a land plot size of up to 50 hectares;

2) medium-sized farms - with the size of the land plot from 51 to 200 hectares;

3) large farms - with the size of the land plot over 200 hectares.

The second feature taken as a basis for determining the size of a farm is the amount of total income.

In the US, small farms are those with sales of up to $100,000 per year. Farms with sales over $250,000 are considered commercial or commercial ($250,000 to $499,000 are medium-sized and over $500,000 are large).

If we apply this scale in Russia when translating at the exchange rate, then for small farmers this corresponds to about 3,000 thousand rubles, for medium ones - from 7,500 to 14,970 thousand rubles, for large ones - over 15,000 thousand rubles. In Russian conditions, this kind of indicators are unattainable even in large agricultural enterprises.

Taking into account the fact that the comparison and application to Russian farming is rather conditional, according to the author, it is advisable to divide farms by total income into three groups:

1) small farms with an income of up to 100 thousand rubles;

2) medium farms with an income of 100,000 to 500,000 rubles;

3) large farms with an income of more than 500 thousand rubles;

Gross income is defined as the farm's annual sales of agricultural products, excluding income from other activities.

The average indicators of production activity characteristic of peasant farms increase with the growth of total income (Table 2). Small and medium-sized farms (59% and 32% of surveyed farms, respectively) are the most common. Large farms account for 9%,

Table 1

Grouping of peasant (farm) holdings by the size of land plots provided in the Republic of Bashkortostan in 2010

Group of farms Number of farms Area of ​​provided land plots

Total In % of the total number of farms Total, ha In % of the area of ​​all farms

Up to 3 ha 192 4.1 311 0.1

4-5 ha 315 6.7 1,433 0.2

6-10 ha 900 19.0 7 111 1.1

11-20 ha 761 16.1 11,926 1.8

21-50 ha 1,264 26.7 46,130 7.2

51-70 ha 315 6.7 18,721 2.9

71-100 ha 255 5.4 22 145 3.4

101-200 ha 313 6.6 46 253 7.2

Over 200 ha 412 8.7 491 192 76.1

Total for all farms... 4,727,100.0 645,222 100.0