Over 140,000 [U.S.] Farms Lost in 5 Years
American Farm Bureau Federation | March 07, 2024 | Daniel MunchBetween 2017 and 2022, the number of farms in the U.S. declined by 141,733 or 7%.
Acres operated by farm operations during the same timeframe declined by 20.1 million (2.2%), a loss equivalent to an area about the size of Maine. Only 1.88% of acres operated and 1% of farm operations were classified under a non-family corporate farm structure.
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USDA defines a farm as an operation that produced and sold, or normally would have sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products during the census year.
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Since 1950, the number of farm operations has declined by 3.75 million (66%) and the number of acres farmed declined by 323 million (27%) – slightly less than twice the size of Texas.
. . . the U.S. population more than doubled, going from 159 million in 1950 to 340 million in 2023.
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Hawaii faces a unique situation, with only enough production and food storage capacity to sustain itself for seven days, exacerbated by a 7% loss in actively farmed land over the past five years.
