Farming and Agribusiness Activities of Large Multiunit Firms

Farming and related agribusiness activities of 410 large multiestablishment firms are examined. The firms, with annual sales of $1 million or more, were identified from data obtained from the Dun and Bradstreet Complex Business File and classified on the basis of their primary business activities--nonagricultural, farming, and three types of agribusiness (agricultural input, processing, and distribution). The most common farming enterprise was beef cattle production, followed by production of vegetables, fruits, and poultry other than broilers. Many of the farming firms had two or more separate farming units while others, primarily those with poultry, vegetable, or fruit production, were vertically integrated. Farming activities of the agribusiness firms were largely a vertical extension of their basic businesses. Farming ventures of the nonagricultural group, except for conglomerate firms, were less integrated into other activities.