Census of Agriculture

What's New In U.S. Agriculture--Tales from the 2022 Census of Agriculture

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 20:58:35 GMT

On February 13, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the national, state, and county level results from the 2022 Census of Agriculture for the 50 states, a snapshot of the U.S. agricultural economy that has been conducted every five years since 1954. Prior to that year, it had been conducted every ten years as part of the required decennial census. In 1997, budgetary responsibility for this function was shifted from the Bureau of the Census (in the Commerce Department) to USDA, although Bureau of Census employees are still heavily involved in survey design and initial data processing. Data for agriculture in U.S. possessions and territories, such as Puerto Rico and American Samoa, will be released later.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke at the press conference when Volume 1 of the Census was released, along with Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Chavonda Jacobs-Young and the Administrator for the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Hubert Hamer. NASS is the agency which houses Census data on its website. The Secretary’s comments focused on the noticeable decline in the number of U.S. farms and the number of farmland acres between the last Census in 2017 and this current one, reducing the number of farms by nearly 7 percent below 2 million for the first time in U.S. history, even with the rather loose definition of a farm under Census rules (farm had to produce and sell at least $1,000 in farm products in the census year). The number of farmland acres also fell by 20 million (2 percent) from 900 million to 880 million. The number of farms declined in every farm size category, though the smallest decline–only 2.1 percent–was in the largest category of 2,000 acres or more.

There is a somewhat better story to tell about the numbers that reflect the age composition of U.S. farmers. Among all farmers reported in the Census (not just principal operators), the average age continued to increase, from 57.5 years to 58.1 years. However, this increase of one percent represents the small incremental increase since 2007, when the Census began to track all operators, not just principal operators. In addition, the number of farmers in the two youngest reported age categories, between 25 and 34 years, and between 35 and 44 years, both increased, by 2.1 percent and 9.3 percent respectively.

The Census clearly indicates that there is much more work to be done to encourage U.S. farmers and ranchers to adopt key conserving agricultural practices and renewable energy installations. Although it does not collect data on every possible practice, the published Census data does include information on adoption rates (and acreage levels where applicable) for cover cropping, no-till and reduced till cultivation, rotational grazing, and several types of farm-located renewable energy facilities. Among the practices mentioned above, the greatest degree of change recorded between 2017 and 2022 was the use of cover cropping, which was implemented on nearly 17 percent more acres in 2022 than in 2017. However, nearly all that increase occurred with farmers who were already using this practice–the number of farms using this practice actually fell negligibly, by less than 0.01 percent. The number of acres that farmers no-tilled increased slightly, by 0.7 percent, while the area in which reduced till cultivation was used actually fell by 0.7 percent.

On the livestock side, the number of operations reporting use of rotational grazing practices fell by about 10 percent, while the number reporting use of on-farm methane digesters fell negligibly, by less than 0.01 percent.

Other on-farm renewable energy installations had mixed results. The number of farms with solar panels increased by nearly 30 percent between 2017 and 2022, while the number of wind turbines owned by farmers rose more modestly, by 2.6 percent, while wind turbines placed on leased land by outside firms rose by 2 percent. Due to improved solar technology over the last few decades, energy generated with solar panels is deemed to be the cheapest source of energy of any kind (renewable or fossil-based) at $0.06 to $0.08 per kilowatt-hour, even when taking into account its intermittent availability, by the International Energy Agency. This improvement likely explains much of the fairly impressive gains for solar installations on farms over the last five years.

The robust gains for cover cropping likely reflect the availability of a cover crop-specific incentive in 2021 and 2022, namely a program that provided a modest ($5 per acre) crop insurance premium discount to farmers using this practice. The more broad-based sets of resources that were authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 totaling nearly $20 billion for adoption of ‘climate-smart agricultural practices’’ and technical assistance as well as $820 million to encourage farm use of renewable energy from the same legislation through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) was not passed until August 2022, long after cultivation practices for that crop year were already in place. The first tranche of funding from this legislation of $3 billion was made available to farmers beginning in September 2023, and the rest is scheduled to be distributed over the next several years. Thus, these incentives will be reflected in the next (2027) Census of Agriculture, as will results of the 141 climate-smart projects funded under the Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities which are beginning to enroll producers this year.

Top 5 Takeaways From the Latest Census of Agriculture

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 14:49:17 GMT

USDA NASS has released its report from the 2022 Census of Agriculture . When compared to the last census in 2017, the new data provided insights to the direction of the agriculture industry.

Here are the five biggest takeaways:

1. Decline in the total number of farms, acreage and operators

The total number of farms and ranches currently sits at 1.9 million, which is a decrease of 7% from 2017. Those farms are operating a total of 880 million acres - down 2%. The overall number of operators declined by just under 26,000.

2. Increased product value generates overall higher farm income, despite higher farm expenses

It’s no secret things are more expensive than they were in 2017. USDA’s data showed the total farm production expenses for the average farm was $223,175 in 2022, compared to $159,821 in 2017. However, the census also showed the increased value of products led to overall higher farm income despite those expenses.

The average net farm income per operation was nearly $80,000 in 2022 - almost double 2017’s $43,053.

3. More off-farm decision makers

While the majority of farms are still family owned, the number of farms in an LLC increased by just over 50,000, while those that have corporations involved in day-to-day decisions increased by a little under 10,000.

The number of farms listing three or more producers as decision makers increased as those naming between one to two producers as decision makers declined.

Not only was there an increase in the number of decision makers, but also the number of off-farm operators: 996,739 from 869,392 in 2017.

4. Newer and younger farm operators

Despite a slight increase in the average age of the U.S. farmer from 57.5 to 58.1 years old, the new census data showed more new and young operators on the farm. Just over 1 million of the total 3.4 million operators have been in the business for 10 years or less.

There was also an increase in the number of operators aged 44 and younger who are involved in day-to-day decision making.

5. Uptick in conservation efforts on the farm

The data shows producers have spent the past five years ramping up their conservation practices.

Over 10,000 more farms are using conservation or reduced tillage in their fields. And while slightly fewer operations are using cover crops, the total number of acres they are planted on has increased.

A total of 153,101 farms and ranches also used renewable energy producing systems, compared to 133,176 farms in 2017 - a 15% increase. Of those operations, 76% reported using solar panels.

2017 Ag Census: Total Number Of U.S. Farms Declines 3%

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 05:21:13 GMT

The total number of farms in the United States declined 3% from 2012 to 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2017 Census of Agriculture released Thursday, April 11. Since the 1997 Census of Agriculture, the number of farms in the U.S. has declined 7.8%.

The total number of farms on Dec. 31, 2017, was calculated at 2,042,220, which was 67,110 fewer than reported in the 2012 Census of Agriculture.

The Census of Agriculture is conducted every five years by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) with information directly from farmers and ranchers. Overall, USDA said there continue to be more of the largest and smallest operations and fewer middle-sized farms. The average age of all farmers and ranchers continues to rise.

NASS found the average size of farms in 2017 was 441 acres, up slightly from 434 acres in 2012. However, the total number of land in farms in 2017 was down 1.5%, totaling slightly more than 900 million acres.

The number of farms with cropland declined 5% from 2012 to 2017, yet the number of acres farmed in crops increased 1.7% to 396.4 million acres.

While NASS found the overall number of farmers declined, the declines occurred among mid-sized farms. Both the smallest sized farms (less than 9 acres) and the largest farms (2,000 acres of more), showed increases. Farms with fewer than 9 acres (273,325 farms) increased by 18% since the 2012 census, and farms with more than 2,000 acres (85,127) increased 3.5%.

For specific crops, NASS reported a decline of nearly 13% in the number of farms growing corn, an 11% decline in the number of cotton farms, a 25% decline in farms growing sorghum for grain, and a 31% decline in the number of farms raising winter wheat for grain.

Among livestock operations, the most significant decline in number of farms was among dairies. From 2012 to 2017, NASS counted a 15% decline in operations, leaving a total of 54,599 farms with milk cows in the U.S.

Contrasting with the decline in dairy farms, both beef cattle and hog farms saw increases in total farms in the 2017 NASS numbers.

U.S. farms with hogs and pigs totaled 66,439 in 2017, a 5% increase. Farms with beef cows totaled 729,046 in 2017, a 3% increase.

U.S. farms with laying hens saw a 15% increase to 232,500. Farms with broilers and other type meat chickens sold saw a slight decline to 32,751.

Want to learn more about the data and trends from the 2017 Census of Agriculture? Visit AgWeb.com/AgCensus2017

5 Questions We Hope the 2017 Census of Ag Will Answer

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 05:21:13 GMT

It’s the Christmas of the agricultural data world, and we’re ready to dice up and deliver the naughty and nice facts about the eco of agriculture in the United States.

Two years ago, 72% of American farmers shared critical data about their operations, finances, labor, crops and livestock. Now we’re ready for the big reveal on April 11. As we wait, here are the top five questions we’re tracking.

Question 1. Who is running the farm?

2012 saw a decline in women as principal operators but a slight uptick in diversity, with increases in the number of black, Hispanic, American Indian and Asian principal operators. Average ages of farmers also climbed in 2012, from 57.1 years in 2007 to 58.3 years in 2012. And the total number of all operators took a slight dip as well, down 3.1%. What will 2017 tell us about who’s running the family farm?

Question 2: What’s the farmer’s financial outlook?

Some say the devil is in the details, and this case the detail is the crucial income/expense ratio. While agricultural sales increased 32.8% from 2007 to 2012 and income saw double-digit increases, expenses were also up—by a whopping 36.4%. Seed expenses increased 66% from 2007 to 2012, and fertilizer increased 57.6%, while labor climbed 23.4%. Will income and expenses show a continued upward march? We’d put money on it.

Question 3: What do current hog operations look like?

“I am interested in the shift of hog operation numbers and also where growth has been located,” says Jennifer Shike, Editor of Farm Journal’s PORK. “With disease pressure, I’m curious where those operations are moving to within the U.S. I’m also interested in ag labor numbers and how those demographics have changed since 2012.”

Question 4: How have dairy herd demographics changed?

“I want to know how the herd demographics have shifted and regionalities as well,” says Mike Opperman, Editor, Farm Journal’s MILK and Dairy Editorial Director. “I think it will help support our theory that certain areas of the country are ‘drying up,’ while others are growing significantly.”

Question 5: Is consolidation continuing in the beef market?

“From the beef industry perspective, the 2012 census counted 727,000 producers, with 10% owning 100 cows or more. That meant 10% of the operations controlled 55% of the cows,” says Greg Henderson, Drovers Editorial Director. “We expect the 2017 numbers to show more consolidation, with more of the cows falling into herds with more than 100 cows.”

What are your burning questions? Share yours with us here.

Related articles:
Take a look back at the 2012 Census data.

Check out dairy’s top 10 job-generating states .

See how many farms were family-owned in 2012.

Is The Census of Agriculture Accurate?

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 05:21:13 GMT

USDA will release the 2017 Census of Agriculture this week. As usual, there’s farmer buzz and speculation about the accuracy of the numbers because many farmers don’t fill out the survey.

Here’s how it works. All known farms, even small plots of land – whether rural or urban, are sent a survey if $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year. It is then up to the farmer to fill out the survey. While it is illegal to not complete the survey and NASS spends a lot of time and money to encourage participation, only 73% of known operators turned in a completed 2017 survey.

So how do the other 27% get accounted for? In the 2017 Census, NASS used capture-recapture methodology, which is an accepted statistical methodology to account for farms who either didn’t receive the survey, did not respond or were not properly classified.

Is it accurate? While that does leave some uncertainty, the uncertainty can be quantified. This is called a coefficient of variation and it’s published at all geographic levels for the Census. Which means we can access the coefficient of variation down to county-level data.

Additionally, as part of the agency’s commitment to accuracy, Census responses are compared to data NASS already has and other known information called administrative data. For example, NASS can use statistical models to compare the June acreage survey (which is more widely responded to) and information from the Census. Using these models, NASS can develop accurate and reliable estimates for U.S. agriculture.

Because the survey is dependent on operator response, errors can occur. Sometimes NASS contacts farmers to verify their answers. Because there have been previous concerns about the questions included in the survey, the 2017 survey was vetted by a committee to improve clarification, according to Veronica Nigh an economist at American Farm Bureau. “NASS then conducted two rounds of extensive cognitive testing on the proposed changes,” she adds.

In Maps: Key Trends Ahead of the 2017 Census of Agriculture

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 05:21:09 GMT

Every five years, USDA releases millions of data points are released as part of the Census of Agriculture. The data sets include everything from the number of farms to total production to demographics—at national, state and county levels.

USDA will release the 2017 edition on Thursday, April 11 at 11 a.m. CDT. Ahead of the data release, take a look at some key data sets from the 2012 Census of Agriculture. How will the 2017 data compare? Stay tuned to AgWeb.com for complete coverage.

(click maps to enlarge)

Farmer Age
The average age of a principal farm operator is 58 years old. The average age is generally highest in the South, and lowest in the Upper Plains.

Farm Income
California and the Corn Belt states (Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Nebraska and the Dakotas) have the highest concentration of counties with farm operations in the highest net cash farm income categories. For 2019, USDA predicts net cash farm income to be $95.7 billion across all U.S. farms. That’s nearly 3% higher than 2018.

Number of Farms
As of 2012, the U.S. was home to 2,109,303 farms. Overall, 40% of all U.S. land is in farms.

What Is Grown Where?

In 2012, 163.5 million acres were dedicated to corn and soybeans. For the first time ever, soybeans and corn for grain acres comprised more than 50% of all cropland harvested. See where all of the major crops are grown in the U.S.

Corn

Soybeans

Wheat

Cotton

Sorghum

Rice

Livestock Across the Country

Beef cows are produced in many areas of the country, while dairy cows and hogs are much more concentrated.

Beef Cows

Hogs and Pigs

Milk Cows

USDA will release the 2017 edition on Thursday, April 11 at 11 a.m. CDT. How will the 2017 data compare to the data above? Stay tuned to AgWeb.com for complete coverage.

Farming Gets Injection of Middle-Aged Startup Farmers

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:53:12 GMT

One in four farmers has 10 years of experience or less, according to the newly released 2017 Ag Census. This number is in stark contrast to the average age of a farmer, 57.5, which alludes to decades of experience.

The Census is the most complete data set on U.S. agriculture, and it highlights everything from the amount of farmland in production to the number of farmers who have access to internet.

New and beginning farmers, as the USDA identifies them, grow crops and raise livestock on 193,405,614 acres of farmland. But only 58,944 of the them have farms with 500 acres or more. This demonstrates that most these folks own smaller farms, many of them producing specialty crops. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t making money. New and beginning farmers contributed $88,058,146,000 of market value to the agriculture economy in 2017.

Most of these newer farmers live on their farms—603,699. But more than half, 477,974, work 200 days or more off the farm. Just 212,404 work on the farm full time. Most of their farm businesses, 487,022, support their household alone. Fifty-nine percent of the producers are male, and 41% are female. Their average age is 46.3.

Want to learn more about the data and trends from the 2017 Census of Agriculture? Visit AgWeb.com/AgCensus2017

Big, Small or Bust: The Hollowing Out of Mid-Sized U.S. Farms

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:53:12 GMT

(Bloomberg) -- The number of U.S. farms that are either very big or pretty small probably grew during a period when agriculture incomes fell 22 percent, pressuring mid-sized growers whose debt skyrocketed.

The first new U.S. agricultural census since 2012, set to be released Thursday, could offer a sobering peek at America’s farming community in the five years ending in 2017, as well as suggesting where it’s headed. The best bet: A decade-long trend of consolidation isn’t likely to abate.

The new report will only capture part of a downturn that’s persisted into 2019, fueled by a trade war with China that’s limited buyers in a year with bumper crops. That’s boosted grower debt to a record $427 billion, spurring a continuing death watch on the mid-sized farm. The industry’s debt-to-income ratio is now the highest since the mid-1980s.

“We’ve had sort of a hallowing out of the middle,” said Todd Kuethe, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, in a telephone interview. “Either you’re one of these large farms or you’re one of these rural, residential farms.”

The number of farms that have 2,000 acres (809 hectares) of land or more increased by 27 percent in 2012 from 1982 levels, the last census showed. Conversely, operations with between 500 and 999 acres dropped by about 30 percent. Meanwhile, the number of little guys -- largely part-time growers, or those farming for leisure or fun -- rose as well. Farms between 10 and 49 acres climbed 31 percent.

Jim MacDonald, an economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, attributes the increase in smaller farms mostly to better data collection by the government and also to people that may have, for example, retired to a rural area, purchased farm land and some cattle or crops.

As for the larger farms, that growth is all about costs, MacDonald said. Farmers have sought to increase scale to better spread their fixed costs and increase their purchasing power with seed and fertilizer companies. At the same time, a proliferation of new technology, including bigger and faster tractors, allow farmers to till ground more quickly and efficiently.

The 2017 census data being released by the USDA will provide a deep dive into grower demographics, from the sizes of farms by acreage and income, to the race and gender of those working in the fields. The last census, released in 2012, came just before net farm income peaked at a record $123 billion.

Dan Sumner, an agricultural professor at the University of California in Davis, says that consumers have benefited from farm consolidation with low prices for food and options like being able to choose between organic and non-organic, for example. Most farms, even as they’ve grown, are still family-owned, he said.

More evidence of consolidation is “not bad news,” Sumner said. “I always like to say the smarter brother stays on the farm. For the most part we have really talented people in farming.”

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