Farm operators are an integral part of some rural economies. The businesses they operate
support jobs and purchase goods and services from local implement and input suppliers.
Farm household spending on food, furniture and appliances, trucks and automobiles, and
a range of consumer goods also supports local jobs and retail businesses. Based on the
2004 Agricultural Resource Management Survey, the linkages between farm household
and business expenditures and communities are explored. Farms in urban areas purchase
household goods in markets closest to the farmstead, but traveled further to purchase farm
business items. The opposite pattern was observed in rural locations.