By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH

Indiana Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The value of U.S. agricultural products fell from $395 billion in 2012 to $389 billion in 2017, according to the latest Census of Agriculture.

Per-farm average net income was $43,053, down from $43,750 in 2012, when the previous census was conducted. More than half of ag producers – 56.4 percent – reported they had negative net cash farm income in 2017.

The number of farms and land in farms also declined, while the average farm size increased slightly. The amount of large and small farms rose, while middle-sized farm numbers decreased. The average age of producers continued to rise and more women were involved in farming.

The 2017 census was conducted by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The agency sent out more than 3 million forms in late 2017. The response rate was nearly 72 percent, down from 74.5 in 2012. The results were released on April 11.

The census defines a farm as “any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year.” Nationwide, there were 2.04 million farms and ranches, down from 2.1 million in 2012.

Land in farms totaled 900 million acres, a drop from 915 million in 2012. The average farm was 441 acres, up from 434.

There were 273,000 farms of 1-9 acres, up from 224,000 in 2012. The number of farms with 2,000 or more acres rose slightly, from 82,000 in 2012 to 85,000. Farms with 10-499 acres accounted for nearly 1.5 million of the nation’s operations, down from almost 1.6 million in 2012. Farms with 500-1,999 acres dropped from 234,000 in 2012 to 221,000.

The census shows the continued consolidation of U.S. agriculture is taking more medium-sized family farms out of the game and concentrating wealth and power among fewer, larger operations, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition concluded.

“Seventy-five percent of all agricultural sales are now coming from just 5 percent of operations,” noted Juli Obudzinski, the organization’s interim policy director. “The total number of farms is down nationwide, while the average size of farms continues to increase.

“We can’t sit idly by while the middle falls out of American agriculture. If we’re going to reverse these trends, we need to focus on programs and policies – beginning farmer and rancher programs, local and organic agriculture, and farmer-driven research, to name a few – that help our family farmers thrive, not just survive.”

The average age of all farmers and ranchers has risen steadily since at least 2002, when it was 53.2 years. In 2007, it was 54.9, and in 2012, 56.3. It increased to 57.5 in 2017.

The number of female producers rose steeply from nearly 970,000 in 2012 to 1.2 million in 2017. There were 2.17 million male producers in 2017, down from 2.2 million in the previous census.

The data collected for the census will be used by the USDA when making policy decisions, said USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue.

“We have to have data like this to rely on to help us improve American agriculture,” he explained. “I was pleasantly surprised, when we hear a lot about corporate farming and industrial farming, that 96 percent of our farms are family-owned. I think that’s again the history and the structure and the strength of American agriculture.”

The drop in land in farms and the loss of arable land should be a concern for everyone, he added.

The census found little change in land use from 2012 to 2017, said Joe Parsons, chair of the USDA’s agricultural statistics board and director of the NASS methodology division. About 401 million acres were devoted to permanent pasture and 396 million to cropland in 2017.

“Across the U.S., almost 40 percent of land area is land in farms,” he noted. “Not surprisingly, the share of land devoted to agriculture is highest in the mid-part of the country, with a swath of land from North Dakota to Texas showing many counties with more than 70 percent of land used for agriculture.”

Total crop sales were $193.5 billion in 2017, down 9 percent from 2012. Most of the decline was due to grains and oilseeds, which fell 19 percent, to $107 billion.

Livestock sales were $195 billion, up 7 percent. The value of cattle and calves, the largest livestock category by sales, was $77.2 billion.

The census did have some bright spots, such as an increase of 5 percent in beginning farmers, Obudzinski said. “That’s a clear sign that interest in agriculture is rising, but it also means that we’ve got to increase our investment in support and outreach to meet that rising interest.”

Young farmers – those 35 or younger in 2017 – accounted for 9.4 percent of all producers. Twenty-seven percent of producers were considered new and beginning farmers, defined as those who have operated a farm 10 or fewer years. Females accounted for 36 percent of all producers. Eleven percent of farmers had served in the military.