The USDA classifies a farm as a "family farm" when the principal operator and his or her relatives own the majority of the business.
A recent report from the department shows that 99 per cent of U.S. farms fit that bill in 2015.
90 per cent of such farms were deemed to be small family farms, as they earned less than $350,000 in annual gross cash farm income.
Small family farms also accounted for half of all farmland and about a quarter of all farm production value.
Nearly all of the rest of the farm value was produced from midsize and large family farms, which made up 9 per cent of all American farms.
Two farm products did stand out in the USDA's report when it came to production from small family farms: 52 per cent of the national hay crop came from them as well as 57 per cent of all poultry and eggs.
