>Since 1974, the Census of Agriculture has defined a farm as any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year.

That's a weird definition.

Acres of contiguous land controlled by a single owner is how people tend to use the word farm.

In reality, farmers are often equipment owners and negotiate with landowners to manage X acres.

None of this discussion is worth wile in referencing farms.

Best could be said : a farmer who has to service equipment equal to a 400 acre farm benefits by laws protecting their farm equipment.

Here in Western Australia, the average cropped area per farm is almost 3,000 acres. From my perspective, 2,000 acres is a small-ish farm, and the 50-100 acre farms surrounding my parents' house in Scotland are comically small, heavily-subsidised gardens.

GP may be wrong about the USA as a whole, though I'm sure there are areas of the US where 2,000 acres would indeed be a small farm.