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BY CHARLES BUTLER
Acting Regional Director
USDA-NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office
Editor's Note: This is a monthly column from the Northeastern Regional Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS-NERFO). The website is www.nass.usda.gov; for the reports mentioned below, click on the "Publications" tab.
The results of the 2022 Census of Agriculture were announced, spanning more than six million data points about America's farms and ranches and those who operate them down to the county level. 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 (operating 10 or fewer years on any farm) as well as young (under the age of 35) producers. The full Census of Agriculture report as well as publication dates for additional ag census data products can be found at nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.
United States
There were 1.9 million farms and ranches (down 7% from 2017) with an average size of 463 acres (up 5%) on 880 million acres of farmland (down 2%). That is 39% of all U.S. land.
Family-owned and operated farms accounted for 95% of all U.S. farms and operated 84% of land in farms.
U.S. farms and ranches produced $543 billion in agricultural products, up from $389 billion in 2017. With farm production expenses of $424 billion, U.S. farms had net cash income of $152 billion. Average farm income rose to $79,790. A total of 43% of farms had positive net cash farm income in 2022.
Farms with internet access continued to rise from 75% in 2017 to 79% in 2022.
A total of 153,101 farms and ranches used renewable energy producing systems compared to 133,176 farms in 2017, a 15% increase. The majority of farms (76%) with
renewable energy systems reported using solar panels.
In 2022, 116,617 farms sold directly to consumers, with sales of $3.3 billion. Value of sales increased 16% from 2017.
The 105,384 farms with sales of $1 million or more were 6% of U.S. farms and 31% of farmland; they sold more than three-fourths of all agricultural products. The 1.4 million farms with sales of $50,000 or less accounted for 74% of farms, 25% of farmland, and 2% of sales.
Nearly three-fourths of farmland was used by farms specializing in two commodity categories: oilseed and grain production (32%) and beef cattle production (40%).
The average age of all producers was 58.1, up 0.6 years from 2017. This is a smaller increase than average age increases between prior censuses.
There were just over
1 million farmers with 10 or fewer years of experience, an increase in the number of beginning farmers from 2017 of 11%. Beginning farmers are younger than all farmers, with an average age of 47.1.
The number of producers under age 35 was 296,480, comprising 9% of all producers. The 221,233 farms with young producers making decisions tend to be larger than average in both acres and sales.
In 2022, 1.2 million female producers accounted for 36% of all producers. Fifty-eight percent of all farms had at least one female decision maker.
The response rate for the 2022 Census of Agriculture was 61%; more than 40% of responses were submitted online. Ag census data highlight publications are available at nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights.
First conducted in 1840 in conjunction with the decennial Census and conducted since 1997 by USDA NASS -- the federal statistical agency responsible for producing official data about U.S. agriculture -- the Census of Agriculture remains the most comprehensive agricultural data for every state and county in the nation.
Northeast Region
The number of farms and ranches in
Pennsylvania was 49,053, down 8% from 2017. Total land in farms, at 7.06 million acres, was down 3% from 2017. The average farm size for 2022 was 144 acres, up seven acres from 2017.
Sheep, goat
in Pennsylvania
All sheep and lamb inventory in Pennsylvania on Jan. 1, 2024, totaled 99,000 head, up 5% from 2023. Breeding sheep inventory increased to 78,000 head on Jan. 1, 2024, up 1% from 77,000 head on Jan. 1, 2023.
The 2023 lamb crop of 69,000 head was up 6% from 2022. The 2023 lambing rate was 119 lambs per 100 ewes one year old and older on Jan. 1, 2023, up 10% from 2022.
Shorn wool production in Pennsylvania during 2023 was 300,000 pounds, down 3% from 2022. Sheep and lambs shorn totaled 48,000 head, up 2% from 2022. The average price paid for wool sold in 2023 was $0.85 per pound for a total value of $255,000, up 3% from $248,000 dollars in 2022.
Sheep death loss during 2023 totaled 4,000 head, unchanged from 2022. Lamb death loss increased 29% from 7,000 head in 2022 to 9,000 head in 2023.
Milk goat inventory was 14,000 head, down 7% from the previous year. Meat and all other goats in Pennsylvania totaled 39,000 head, down 5% from Jan. 1, 2023.
Cattle inventory
in Pennsylvania
All cattle and calves in Pennsylvania, as of Jan. 1, 2024, totaled 1.38 million head, up 2% from Jan. 1, 2023. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 680,000, are up 3% from Jan. 1, 2023. Beef cows, at 215,000 head, are up 10% from Jan. 1, 2023. Milk cows, at 465,000 head, are unchanged from the previous year.
The 2023 calf crop was estimated at 530,000 head, up 2% from 2022. Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in Pennsylvania for all feedlots totaled 85,000 head on Jan. 1, 2024. The inventory is up 31% from the
Jan. 1, 2023 total.