Ag Census Shows Drop in Number of Grain Operations and Mid-Sized Farms
New Ag Census shows the number of farms increased but so did concentration.
Bryce Knorr
Published: Feb 4, 2009
The number of farms — as defined by USDA — increased by 4%, reversing a long-standing downward trend, according to the just released Census of Agriculture. The 2007 headcount of the nation's farms, is updated every five years.
USDA counted 2,204,792 operations in the U.S., an increase of 75,810 since 2002. However, the number of operations most people would recognize as the traditional Midwestern farm — those producing grain and livestock — actually declined.
While the number of farms grew, concentration in agriculture continues to increase. "In
2002, 144,000 farms produced 75% of the value of U.S. agricultural production," USDA reported. "In 2007, the number of farms that produced that same share of production declined to 125,000."
Farms with more than $1 million in sales produced 59% of U.S. ag production, up from 47% in 2002.
Small and mid-sized farms continue to be squeezed, according to the new data. While the number of farms with sales of less than $1,000 in sales grew by 118,000, those with between $1,000 and $250,000 shrank. Most of the new, small farms were located in a belt from Texas up through the Rockies.
The latest Census paints a picture of a profitable ag sector, despite sharply rising costs. The value of products sold was just less than $300 billion in 2007, helping offset a 39% increase in production expenses to produce net farm income of $75 billion, an 84% increase.
Energy costs rose the most on a percentage basis, up 93%, while fertilizer was up 86% and seed increase 55% from 2002 to 2007.
For more on the Ag Census, go to: http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/index.asp.
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