By DAVE BLOWER JR.
Farm World Editor

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — While some things change, other things stay the same, said Greg Preston, director of the Indiana field office of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service after reviewing the results of the 2007 Census of Agriculture last week.

Something new, the number of Hoosier farms increased by 1 percent versus the 2002 ag census. In 2007, NASS recorded 60,938 Indiana farms while only 60,296 were reported in operation in 2002. Both numbers are still far below the 66,707 that were found in the 1997 ag census.

“A long-standing trend on the decline of the number of farms in Indiana may be coming to an end,” Preston said.

This coincides with the 4 percent national increase in the number of farms. Preston added that the USDA defines a farm as a property with $1,000 or more of agricultural production in 2007, or a property with the potential to do so.

The trends of declining farmland acres and fewer mid-sized farms continued. “The category of farms that have 2,000 acres or more actually increased by 30 percent from the previous census,” explained Preston. “Farms that have 1-9 acres have actually gone up 79 percent.”

This trend began to appear during the 2002 ag census. The number of farms between 50-1,999 acres are declining. “These results show that you either have to get larger and become self-sufficient and compete in a global market, or you go smaller and get in a niche market or something direct-to-consumer,” Preston said.

He said the statistics show other sobering facts.

“I hate to see (statistics) like this in a sense because you can see how hard it is for the guys in the middle to make ends meet,” Preston said.

Kevin McNamara, a Purdue ag economics professor, added that an increasing number of farmers are seeking off-farm employment. He said the 2007 census shows that 72 percent of Indiana farmers also have off-farm jobs.

“This 72 percent means the farm sector is more dependent on the general economy as a whole,” McNamara explained.

He said many farmers are seeking these jobs for health insurance and other benefits. Due to current slumping economic conditions, McNamara said, farmers may not be able to rely on these jobs on the short term.

Preston also said that there are 14.8 million acres of farmland in Indiana, which is down 2 percent from the 15.1 million acres reported in the 2002 census. In addition, the average size of a Hoosier farm declined 3 percent from 250 acres in 2002 to 242 acres in 2007.

“Most farms in Indiana are small farms,” Preston said.
Hoosier farmers enjoyed higher commodity prices during the 2007 census. This likely accounts for the 73 percent increase in the market value of farm products. In 2002, Indiana farmers reported total production worth $4.8 billion. That figured jumped to $8.3 billion in 2007.

The average Hoosier farm reported market value production of $135,733 in 2007 versus $79,328 five years earler.
A follow-up survey will be sent to organic producers in the next few months, Preston reported.

For additional census information, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov