Results from the new census of ag. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA/NASS) this week announced the 2022 Census of Agriculture results. The information collected directly from producers shows a continued decline in the total number of U.S. farms. However, the data also show a rise in the number of new and beginning farmers and young producers.
New and beginning farmers are defined as those operating ten or fewer years on any farm and young producers are those under the age of 35.
NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer says, “Overall, though there are always changes across U.S. agriculture, the data remains largely consistent with the previous ag census.”
The data shows there were 1.9 million farms and ranches, down seven percent from 2017, with an average size of 463 acres, up five percent. The leading ag-producing county in the nation is Fresno County, California, which ranked higher than 23 states.
Listen to Sabrina Halvorson’s This Land Of Ours program here.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.