Although the number of farms in the United States is decreasing, the number of new, beginning, and young farmers is increasing. These are two of the main points from the 2022 Agriculture Census, which is released once every five years to get the latest information on our country’s agricultural sector. Other notable data points from the census: U.S. farmland makes up nearly 40% of our country’s total land, and family farms make up 95% of all U.S. farms.
Two specific data points in the new census are raising concerns for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
“Study after study shows that the number of farms and the area of agricultural land continues to decline,” Vilsack said. “In 2017, when we conducted the survey, there were 2,042,220 farms. Currently, the survey reports that there are 1,900,487 farms. This is a reduction of 142,000 farms over five years. In 2017, we had almost over 900 million acres of agricultural land. Five years later, we had 880 million acres of land. That means we had 20 million acres of agricultural land. I lost it.”
The census also shows that U.S. farms and ranches are more productive and more profitable than they were five years ago.
“Total production value increased by approximately 40% from 2017 to 2022, from $389 billion in 2017 to $543 billion,” said Brian Combs of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. “Sales in 2022 accounted for 52% of that amount, an increase of 45% compared to 2017. Livestock sales also increased, increasing by 35% compared to 2017.”
The census also shows that farm production costs in 2022 were $424 billion. As a result, his net income from farms from 2017 to 2022 increased by $36.7 billion, or 72%, compared to 2017.
The census showed an increase in both new, novice, and young farmers and ranchers.
“A young producer is a person who is under the age of 35 and involved in farm decision-making as of December 31, 2022, and the Census showed that there were 296,480 young producers reported. “We are working hard,” Combs said.
Past census results show trends in the aging of the agricultural population. That trend will continue in 2022, with the average age of all producers now just over 58 years old, according to the census. However, the six-month increase from 2017 was a smaller increase than in previous censuses.
When it comes to changes in the way this country’s farms and ranches operate, a new census shows that access to the internet has increased from 75% to 79% since 2017, and the use of renewable energy production systems has increased more than the census. Increased by 15%. . Farms that sold directly to consumers in the 2022 Census also reported sales of $3.3 billion, an increase of 16% from 2017.
The complete 2022 Census is available below. nass.usda.gov/agcensus
