USDA Census of Agriculture Shows U.S. Losing Small Farms to Factory Farming, While Gaining in Renewable Energy Use

The latest Census of Agriculture from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) raises concerns over a loss of small farms and a growth in larger farms, while also showing some promise with the growth of renewable energy implementation in agriculture.

The USDA completes a Census of Agriculture every five years to count the nation’s farms and ranches. The latest census, the 2022 Census of Agriculture, revealed that 39% of U.S. land is covered by farms and ranches. The number of farms and ranches is around 1.9 million, a decrease of 7% from the previous 2017 census. While the number of farms decreased, the size of each farm increased 5% to an average of 463 acres.

Most of the farmland, nearly three-fourths, was used for two primary reasons: oilseed and grain production and beef cattle production. Beef cattle production comprised 40% of land use. According to an analysis from Food & Water Watch, the number of animals in factory farms is now around 1.7 billion, up 6% since the last census and 47% since 2002, while the number of small-size dairy farms is only about one-third of the number of smaller dairy farms in 2002.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who presented the census to the USDA, noted that the trend of fewer but larger farms has had negative impacts on communities. In addition to the decline of smaller farms, the impacts have led to losses in other community staples, such as schools and healthcare, Mother Jones reported.

To change course, Vilsack recommended investments in climate-friendly farming practices that could also provide additional revenue streams for owners of small- to medium-size farms.

“It’s important for us to invest in climate-smart agriculture because that creates an opportunity for farmers to qualify, potentially, for ecosystem service market credits, which is cash coming into the farm for environmental results that can only occur on the farm,” Vilsack said, as reported by Mother Jones. “The farm then creates a second source of income.”

In a press release, Vilsack noted some recent initiatives by the U.S. government to improve the agriculture industry for smaller farmers, including improving local food systems for farmers to sell directly to customers and incorporating renewable energy projects with agriculture.

“All of these actions are enabling America’s farmers to be less reliant on a few large, consolidated monopolies, making farming more viable for the next generation, and making our food system more resilient for everyone who eats,” Vilsack said.

According to the census report, farms and ranches produced $543 billion, an increase from $389 billion generated in 2017. Further, Vilsack said in a press statement that the net farm income during the first three years of the Biden administration was the highest on record.

There were other positive takeaways from the census as well. There was a 15% increase in the number of farms utilizing renewable energy generation compared to the 2017 census, and there was an 11% increase of the number of beginner farmers, or those with 10 or fewer years of experience.

“There is more work to do to ensure we maintain strong momentum in terms of farm income, and to make sure that income is equitably distributed among farms of all sizes so more can stay in business and contribute to their local economies,” Vilsack said. “Today’s report is a wake-up call to everyone who plays a role in agriculture policy or who shares an interest in preserving a thriving rural America — we are at a pivotal moment, in which we have the opportunity to hold tight to the status quo and shrink our nation’s agriculture sector further, or we can choose a more expansive, newer model that creates more opportunity, for more farmers.”