Fewer Farms, But More Farmers According to Census

(WASHINGTON, DC) The number of farmers in the United States has grown by nearly seven percent over the past five years. That’s one data point from the newly-released Census of Agriculture from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Both farm numbers and land in farms have experienced a small percentage decline since the last Census in 2012. There also appears growth in the number of large and small operations while the number of mid-size operations continues to decline. The average age of all farmers and ranchers continues to rise as well. The average age of all producers is 57.5 years, up 1.2 years from the previous survey. As of 2017, the number of producers is up by nearly seven percent to 3.4 million, because more farms reported multiple producers. Most of these newly identified producers are female. While the number of male producers fell nearly two percent to 2.17 million, the number of female producers increased by almost 27 percent to 1.23 million. The Census tells the story of American agriculture and is an important part of our history. First conducted in 1840, the Census of Agriculture accounts for all U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Today, NASS sends questionnaires to nearly 3 million potential U.S. farms and ranches and roughly one-quarter of those who respond, do so online.