Over 83 percent of the farmland in private ownership in 1978 was held by sole proprietors, husbands and wives, or family partnerships. Nonfamily corporations owned less than 4 percent of the farmland but reported an average of 520 acres per owner compared to 129 for individual and family ownerships. The 1 percent of farmland owners with the largest holdings held about 30 percent of the farmland. Farmland owners in the aggregate reported operating 70 percent of their holdings. However, only about 40 percent of the farmland was owned by farmers who operate only land they own. Owners who considered farming their principal occupation owned 57 percent of the reported farmland.