My Alternet Article

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Feb 24, 2009 at 14:24:01 PM PST

Ag Census 2007: Who Grows What Where?

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Feb 12, 2009 at 15:36:18 PM PST

Does it follow then that the smaller you are, the more likely you are to grow "real food" (what the government refers to as "specialty crops")? In other words, which farms are growing our fruits and vegetables? The numbers there were less clear, particularly for vegetables.

So today I decided to check into something else: are all of our fruits and veggies coming from specific parts of the country? If that's the case, then even if large farms grow as much veggies as the small ones, I think it's clear that they aren't providing us with the fresh, local, organic food that we desire. Here's what I found...

Ag Census 2007: A Profile of the Largest Farms (2000+ Acres)

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 11:30:41 AM PST

These farms made up 3.6% of all American farms in 2007 - a slight decline since they peaked at 3.7% in 2002. In 1964, they made up 1.9% of all farms and that percent has gone up throughout history until 2002.

In absolute numbers, there has been a constant increase in farms of this size since 1964 (when there were 60,293 of them), increasing to 80,393 in 2007. In fact, despite their decrease as a percent of all farms in the last 5 years, the absolute number of farms with 2000 or more acres has increased by 2423 farms.

These farms may make up only 3.6% of all farms, but their sales represent 27% of sales by all farms of any size and their land makes up over half of all farm acres in the U.S. And these farms are totally on the government take. Nearly 1/3 of all government money that goes to farms goes to farms over 2000 acres.

In short - the number of these large farms has grown consistently throughout history and does not show a sign of stopping. These farms are profiting. Only a very small percent are struggling financially, and while about 12% of these farms are retired or have a principle occupation other than farming, the remainder are farmers by occupation and financially successful to boot.

So who are these farmers, and what's happening on their farms?

Ag Census 2007: Profile of Small Farms 10-49 Acres

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 10:18:03 AM PST

These farms made up 28.1% of all American farms in 2007 - the largest percent they've made up of our farms on record since 1964. In 1964, they made up 20.2% of all farms and that percent has gone up and down throughout history, reaching a low at 16.4% in 1974. In acreage, these farms make up 1.7% of all American farmland.

In absolute numbers, there was a decline in farms of this size since 1964 (when there were 637,434 of them), and the numbers went up and down for several years, reaching a low of 379,543 in 1974. They've been on the rise since 1992 though, and there are now 620,283 - almost as many farms of this size as there were in 1964. In fact, in 2007 there were 56,511 more farms of this size than there were in 2002.

In short - just like the smallest farms (1-9 acres), the good news is that farms of 10-49 acres increased in numbers between 2002 and 2007, but the bad news is that most people aren't actually making a living on these farms.

So who are these farmers, and what's happening on their farms?