Commodities
Number of Farms in America Is Shrinking as Producers Get Older
- US farm count drops to 1.9 million in 2022, USDA says
- Surging costs add to the hurdles of growing enough food
The total acreage used in farms dropped about 2.2%.
Photographer: Arin Yoon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The number of farms in America is shrinking as growers get older and producing crops gets a lot more expensive.
The US had 1.9 million farms in 2022, a 6.9% drop from five years ago and the lowest since at least 1992, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture released on Tuesday. The total acreage used in farms dropped about 2.2%.