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Abstract
Changes in U.S. agriculture have yielded a diversity of farm types. These changes have
extended beyond the farm business and into the farm household. The objective of this paper is to
discuss the policy implications of a new typology of U.S. farm households that is based on
household economic theory. Using the 2003 Agricultural Resource Management Survey and
statistical analysis, six mutually exclusive groups of U.S. farm households are identified as the
U.S. Farm Household Typology. This typology is then discussed relative to its financial
characteristics, credit needs, and the development of a customer-driven marketing strategy for
agricultural lenders.