America's farmers

USA Facts -  Farms contribute less than 1% of the national GDP, but their products support the entire economy, from manufacturing to restaurants to retail.  In 2022, the nation had 3.4 million agricultural producers. The term “producers” refers to the farmers and workers involved in making decisions from planting to harvesting on these farms.  Among these producers, 63.7% were male, 63.2% were at least 55 years old, 95.4% were white, and 84.7% worked on family-owned farms. They were also more likely to be veterans.   About 50.8% of farms primarily grew crops, while 28.1% focused on beef cattle ranching. Another 17.4% primarily grew oilseed or grains like corn, wheat, and soybeans.

Texas had the most farmers (409,682), followed by Missouri (159,688) and Iowa (157,531). The number of farmers in the 2022 agricultural census decreased 0.8% (25,970) compared to a decade prior.  The average size of the nation’s 1.9 million farms was 463 acres. However, 61% of farmland belonged to the 83,308 farms larger than 2,000 acres