Almost one-sixth of all U.S. farming households suffered net income losses in 1984, while about one-ninth had total incomes of more than $60,000. This disparity in a relatively high income year for the agricultural sector as a whole demonstrated the importance of income distribution in determining the overall financial well-being of farm operators and their households. Most of the average farming household's income earned on the farm came in the form of the rental value of farm dwellings, home consumption of farm-produced food, and wages and benefits operators paid themselves and their household. In 1984, about three-fifths of the total income earned by farming households came from off-farm sources. The income gap between farm operator households and nonfarm households had narrowed somewhat over time, but farm operator household incomes were still generally lower. Average incomes tended to mask differences, however, because farm households had a higher proportion of households in both the lowest and highest income group than did nonfarm households. More than two-fifths of all U.S. farms had total annual sales of less than $10,000. Farms in the Delta States had the lowest average incomes in 1984, Pacific States farms the highest. (YLB)