Toward a More Complete Comparison of Farm and Nonfarm Proprietorship Income

Several methods are available to agricultural economists for appraising the income position of farm proprietors. However, most analyses concentrate on a single measure and give little attention to alternative techniques. We suggest that a better understanding of the income situation of a group can be gained by using a combination of techniques. Income of farm proprietors is often compared with that of other broad industrial groups. Such a procedure can partly mask differences and similarities that exist between the farm sector and other businesses. In this paper we compare farm proprietor incomes with those of nonfarm proprietors.