2022 Agriculture Census Results
The 2022 Census of Agriculture is out! This happens once every five years and includes a count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them.
As shared by Successful Farming, the “2022 census reported 1.9 million farms, a drop of 142,000, or 6%, in five years. It was the smallest count since 1.4 million farms in 1850." Consolidation, the age of farmers, higher costs of production, and natural disasters all have a part to play here.
Like conventional agriculture, organic farms are experiencing some of the same pressures. Here are some statistics that stood out to us:
The number of certified organic farms fell between 2017 and 2022, despite continued demand for organic products in the marketplace.
The value of organic sales from U.S. farms increased from $7.3 billion to $9.6 billion over this same five-year period.
Compared to the 2017 Census, the number of Black farmers decreased from 32,910 to 28,723, while white producers slightly increased.
The average size of a farm grew from 441 acres to 463 acres since 2017.
In 2022, large farms made up 4.4% of all farms and accounted for 536,874,535 acres which is a rise from 519,563,709 acres in the 2017 census.
Farm numbers decreased across all size categories except farms operating 5,000+ acres.
Large farms (with > $1 million in sales) now make up 75% of the total value of U.S. agricultural production.
Farmers are older but also more likely to be newer to farming: the number of beginning farmers rose by 5.5% since 2017.
Access the full 2022 Agriculture Census results report here.