Market Trends of United States Agricultural Machinery Industry
Increasing Average Farm Size
American agriculture and rural life underwent a tremendous transformation in the 20th century. Early 20th-century agriculture was labor intensive, and it took place on many small, diversified farms in rural areas where more than half the U.S. population lived. On the other hand, agricultural production in the 21st century is concentrated on a smaller number of large, specialized farms in rural areas where less than a fourth of the U.S. population lives.
The increasing farm size in the country is leading to a drop in the number of farms in the United States. According to USDA, there were 2.02 million farms in 2020, which has decreased to 2.01 million farms in 2021 due to productivity in agriculture and increased nonfarm employment opportunities. Almost 50% of the farms in the country are family-operated farms.
As per the United States department of agriculture, the average farm size was 441 acres in 2017, which increased and reached 445 acres in 2021. The primary reason for the consolidation of the farm is profitability. More significant the farm size higher the profitability.
Furthermore, as the labor cost increases year on year and managing a larger farm, more laborers are required, which decreases the profitability of the farms. As a significant portion of the profits goes for the labor payments, also managing farms based entirely on labor is a time taking process that does not suit the farm owners; hence the farm owners are using agricultural machinery in farming.
Therefore, the increased labor costs and increased average farm size make farmers adopt agricultural machinery in farming, fueling the market growth studied during the forecast period.
Cultivators & Tillers Holds Dominates the Market in Ploughing and Cultivating Machinery Segment
The demand for tillers and cultivators is anticipated to increase with the increasing acceptance of machinery over manual work in agricultural fields across the country. There is a rising concept of incorporating autonomous robotics into agriculture to reduce the reliance on manual labor, while increasing efficiency, product yield, and quality. For instance, an automated cultivator was developed by the US Davis Smart Farm, California, as a part of its research initiative. The reduction in the complexity of the technologies used is anticipated to boost the demand for cultivators and tiller machinery in domestic gardening and agricultural applications.
Furthermore, the environmental drawbacks of chemical weed control and its other limitations are reintroducing the mechanical cultivation methods in the country, which is further projected to increase the demand for the tiller and cultivator machinery market in the country during the forecast period. The increase in the number of luxurious villas and homes with winding garden walkways lined with trees, magnolia, chamomile, and begonias will augment the sales of garden tillers and cultivators in the country.
Many homeowners in the country, despite the commercial farmers, are investing in gardening projects. The growing focus on organic foods is resulting in a growing number of consumers developing their own organic vegetable gardens in their backyards. As garden spaces increase the home value, there is growing interest in planting different types of shrubs, trees, and herbaceous plants in residential yards.
Municipalities are stepping up their investments in environmental horticulture to create public gardens and ornamental horticulture to rehabilitate degraded sites. A strong emphasis is laid on gardenscapes due to the commercial benefits of having gardens. Thus, the above-mentioned factors are benefiting the demand for cultivators and tillers such as smaller petrol-powered tillers for domestic purposes.
