Farms and Land in Farms, Highlights From a Recent NASS Report

On Friday, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its annual Farms and Land in Farms report.

The report stated that,

The number of farms in the United States for 2022 is estimated at 2,002,700, down 9,350 farms from 2021.

“The number of farms increased in all sales classes except the $1,000-$9,999 and $10,000-$99,999 sales classes. In 2022, 50.8 percent of all farms had less than $10,000 in sales and 81.4 percent of all farms had less than $100,000 in sales. In 2022, 7.5 percent of all farms had sales of $500,000 or more.”

NASS noted that, “Total land in farms, at 893,400,000 acres, decreased 1,900,000 acres from 2021. The biggest change for 2022 is that producers in Sales Class $100,000 – $249,999 operated 1,620,000 fewer acres than in 2021. In 2022, 30.0 percent of all farmland was operated by farms with less than $100,000 in sales, while 41.2 percent of all farmland was operated by farms with sales of $500,000 or more.”

Friday’s report added that, “The average farm size for 2022 is 446 acres, up from 445 acres the previous year. Average farm size increased in the $1,000,000 or more sales class and decreased or remained unchanged in all other sales classes.”

NASS Regional Field Offices also released data on Friday regarding the Farms and Land in Farms report, several of these updates are highlighted below: