The USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture, released February 13, 2024, counted 1.88 million U.S. farms farming 880 million acres, down about 7 percent in farm count from 2017, with an average producer age of 58.1 years, up 0.6 years over the five-year period. Those three numbers, fewer operations, consolidated acres, and an aging producer base, frame nearly every structural question in U.S. agribusiness, from land transfer to labor supply.
Farm Press Theme publishes information, not policy advocacy. The census is a self-reported, full-count survey conducted every five years; this analysis reads its documented results without extrapolation beyond them.
How does the census define a farm?
A census farm is any place that produced and sold, or normally would have sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products in the census year. That low threshold means the count includes hobby farms, rural residences with a few acres of hay, and institutional plots alongside commercial operations. It is why the average farm size, about 463 acres in 2022, tells you little about a typical commercial farm: USDA's own structure analyses show that most production comes from a small share of large operations.
The 2022 census also changed how it reports people, counting more than one producer per farm. It recorded nearly 3.4 million producers across those 1.88 million farms, a deliberate methodology that captures the multi-operator reality of family farms but complicates comparisons with older headcounts.
What happened to farm numbers and size?
The decline from just over 2 million farms in 2017 to 1.88 million in 2022 continued a consolidation pattern that has run for decades. The census tables show the middle hollowing out: mid-size farms declined in number while both very small and very large operations grew as shares of the total. Land in farms fell about 2 percent over the period, meaning the average acreage per operation rose slightly even as total farmland shrank.
The agribusiness consequence is documented throughout the census: fewer, larger customers for input retailers, equipment dealers, and grain handlers, and thinner rural service economies in counties where mid-size farms used to anchor demand.
What does the census say about producer age and new farmers?
The average age of 58.1 years in 2022 continued a long rise, and the census age tables show the share of producers under 35 remaining small, roughly one in eleven, while producers 65 and older made up nearly a third of the total. At the same time, the census counted about a million producers with ten or fewer years on the farm, evidence that people do enter farming, though disproportionately into smaller operations and often alongside older family members rather than as standalone operators.
The entry economics are the documented barrier: USDA Economic Research Service farm sector data show farmland values and equipment costs at record nominal levels in the mid-2020s, while new producers mostly begin with limited owned acreage. Beginning-farmer programs, including USDA Farm Service Agency loan targets and the Transition Incentives Program that links retiring and beginning farmers on expiring Conservation Reserve Program acres, exist precisely because the capital gap is structural.
What did the census show about diversity and off-farm income?
The 2022 census recorded continued increases in the counts of female producers, holding at more than a million, and in producers of Hispanic origin and most racial categories, though white producers still made up the large majority of the total. It also documented the economics most farm households actually live on: the majority of farms are small by sales class, and USDA's household income research, built on census and survey data, consistently shows most farm household income coming from off-farm sources, jobs, businesses, and retirement, with commercial-scale farms the exception.
That dual structure matters for anyone reading census numbers as a market signal: the census counts farms, but spending power in agriculture concentrates in the roughly one in ten operations that generate most of the sector's sales.
Why does the census matter to operators?
Census data allocate resources: county-level counts inform USDA program administration, disaster and insurance design, and rural infrastructure funding, and the demographic trends it documents drive policy debates over land access, credit, and succession. The next census, covering 2027, will be collected in early 2028, and the demographic deltas it records, entries, exits, and the age distribution, will be the reference point for the rest of the decade.
| Measure | 2022 Census | vs. 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Farms | 1.88 million | down ~7% |
| Land in farms | 880 million acres | down ~2% |
| Average farm size | 463 acres | up slightly |
| Producers counted | ~3.4 million | multiple producers per farm |
| Average producer age | 58.1 years | up 0.6 years |
Frequently asked questions
How many farms does the U.S. have?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 1.88 million farms, down about 7 percent from 2017, farming 880 million acres. A census farm is any place selling or normally selling at least $1,000 of agricultural products in the census year.
What is the average age of U.S. farmers?
58.1 years in 2022, up 0.6 years from 2017, per the census. Producers 65 and older made up nearly a third of the total, while producers under 35 remained roughly one in eleven.
How many beginning farmers are there?
The 2022 census counted about a million producers with ten or fewer years of farming experience. Entry is real but skewed toward smaller operations and family partnerships, given documented land and capital costs.
How many producers are women?
More than one million producers were women in 2022, a share that held from 2017, when the census first restructured how multiple producers per farm are counted. Counts of Hispanic and most non-white producers also rose.
When is the next Census of Agriculture?
The next census covers the 2027 production year, with data collection in early 2028 and release expected in 2029, following the five-year cycle USDA NASS has used for decades.
For more context, read Seven working steps for farm succession planning.
For more context, read cover crop economics.
For more context, read The economics of drought resilience on ranches.