February 25, 2014. Last week USDA released preliminary figures from the 2012 Census of Agriculture. The Census of Agriculture is compiled every five years by USDA and is intended to provide a comprehensive view of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Census data is used to make decisions about many things that directly impact farmers, including: (1) community planning, (2) store/company locations, (3) availability of operational loans and other funding, (4) location and staffing of service centers, and (5) farm programs and policies.
The preliminary data released by USDA served to re-enforce the understanding that the farm population continues to age. However, a promising data point suggests that farmland losses have slowed dramatically and may actually start to see gains in portions of the country in the years ahead. From 2007 to 2012 farmland losses went from 922 million acres to 915 million acres, this represents the third smallest decline between censuses since 1950.
Additional findings from the preliminary figures show an increase in the value of agricultural products sold in the United States. This increase shows that the value of agricultural products have increased 33 percent between 2007 and 2012, totaling $394.6 billion in 2012. Furthermore, the United States recorded 2.1 million farms in 2012, which is down 4.3 percent from the previous Census in 2007. The 2012 data also shows that the smallest and largest farms have held mostly steady while the overall number of mid-size farms continue on a downward trajectory. In terms of farm size by acres, this continues an overall downward trend in mid-sized farms, while the smallest and largest-size farms held steady.
The preliminary data has provided critical insight into the current status of the U.S. Agricultural Sector. The production of the final report, due in May 2014, will provide a complete and comprehensive picture of the U.S. Agricultural Sector. For additional information regarding the 2012 Census of Agriculture please visit www.agcensus.usda.gov.
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