SARE Fact Sheet: Sustainable Ag Info in the 2007 Census of Agriculture

The 2007 Census of Agriculture revealed a new trend in American agriculture: the return of the small farmer. The census showed that the number of farms is actually increasing in America. These new farms, however, are smaller and more diverse than in the past two decades, operated by younger people, as well as more minorities and women—and they are often supported by off-farm income sources. Today, small operators manage 48 percent of the nation’s farm and ranch land. According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, USDA must offer programs that support the sustainability of small family farms.

Concurrently, while the number of small farms grows, so does the concentration of ag into a relatively few large-acreage agribusinesses. Mid-sized farmers seem to be the casualty in these trends, with their numbers dropping sharply. For complete census information, see www.agcensus.usda.gov. Below are census highlights relevant to sustainable agriculture.

FARM CHARACTERISTICS

291,329 new farms have begun since 2002.
Farms that started between 2003 and 2007 tended to be smaller and have lower sales than all farms.
New farms, on average, had 201 acres of land and $71,000 in sales, while the average for all farms was 418 acres and sales of $135,000.
Small farms—reporting less than $10,000 in sales of agricultural products—made up 60 percent of the total.
Since 2002, the number of Hispanic principal operators increased 10 percent and female principal operators increased 30 percent.
In 2007, limited resource operations—which sold less than $100,000 in products and whose principal operator earned less than $20,000—were 14 percent of the total and accounted for 4.6 percent of all acreage.
38,547,450 acres were enrolled in conservation and wetlands programs.

ORGANICS

The value of organically produced commodities was $1.71 billion in 2007 from 18,211 operations—an average income of $93,850 a year per operation.
Farmers reported 2,577,418 organic acres, including 616,358 acres converted in 2007 by 11,901 operations.
1,288,088 organic acres were harvested in 2007.
Farmers reported 975,380 acres of organic pasture.

FARMING PRACTICES

Cropland acreage left idle or used for cover crops or soil-improvement but not harvested or pastured increased 1.8 percent between 2002 and 2007.
503,917 operations used conservation methods.
388,912 operations practiced rotational or management intensive grazing.
23,451 operations reported generating energy or electricity on the farm. The Census does not reveal which of these generated renewable energy.

MARKETING PRACTICES

Between 2002 and 2007, income from agri-tourism and recreational on-farm activities increased 180 percent, while the number of farms engaging in these activities decreased 16.7 percent.
78,418 operations sold value-added commodities.
12,549 operations marketed products through community supported agriculture (CSA).
The value of all agricultural products sold directly to individuals for human consumption was $1.21 billion, with 136,817 farms involved in the practice.

Top