Fewer farms. More feedlots. Bigger operations. Older – and still mostly white -- producers.
Those are some of the highlights – or lowlights – of the 2022 Agricultural Census released Tuesday by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Groups ranging the ideological spectrum from the American Farm Bureau Federation to the Environmental Working Group are concerned about the continued decline in farms (down 7%) and farmland (down 2%) from 2017.
Many of the farms that disappeared between 2017 and 2022 had sales of $100,000 to $500,000, or less than $10,000, EWG notes. Meanwhile, farms with sales higher than $500,000 grew from 146,568 in 2017 to 173,025 in 2022 – an increase of 18%.
AFBF President Zippy Duvall says the “latest census numbers put in black and white the warnings our members have been expressing for years. Increased regulations, rising supply costs, lack of available labor and weather disasters have all squeezed farmers to the point that many of them find it impossible to remain economically sustainable.”
The farming population still is mostly white – 95.4% of respondents identified as Caucasian. Black farmers made up 1.2%, Hispanic 3%, Asian 0.7%, and American Indian 1.7%.
The average age rose to 58.1 years old.
Cover crops reach more acres, but fewer farms
The census also shows cover crops appeared on more acres of cropland in 2022 than they did in 2017, despite being planted on slightly fewer farms. Farmers planted cover crops on 17.9 million acres in 2022, which represents a 2.6-million-acre increase from 2017. Some 153,402 farms planted cover crops in 2022, which is 74 fewer than in 2017.
"I might have expected total cover crop acres to be a bit higher than the reported 18 million acres, but we have to take into account the lower harvested cropland that year, the fact it was a dry fall in 2022 which tends to significantly discourage cover crop planting, and the fact that the new boosts in cover crop incentive funding had not yet kicked in at that point,” said Rob Myers, the director of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture at the University of Missouri.
But, but, but: Use of cover crops rose by 24% on farm operations of 500 acres or more, while jumping 49% in operations spanning 2,000 acres or more, Myers says. “Those are very positive numbers for cover crop adoption,” he said.
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Looking ahead: Myers says he expects to see a “more dramatic” increase in cover crops captured in the 2027 census, due to "significant boosts in incentive funds and a much greater effort on cover crop education that is getting underway through USDA climate-smart projects.”
Vilsack heads to Capitol Hill
On the heels of the census release, Vilsack will be testifying today before the House Agriculture Committee. Vilsack is certain to make the case for the administration’s focus on small to midsize farms and underserved producers.
His appearance comes as the House and Senate Ag committees are mired in an impasse over funding for a new farm bill. Vilsack has suggested using the Commodity Credit Corporation to help farmers deal with a decline in profitability.
CBO boosts insurance costs, IRA outlays
The Congressional Budget Office has raised its 10-year forecast for federal crop insurance spending by 22%, according to an analysis by the GOP staff of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
The higher estimate “is driven by higher expected crop prices and an additional 30 million acres projected to be insured each year – driven by an increase in pasture, rangeland, and forest utilization,” the analysis says.
Take note: The analysis says it isn’t clear yet whether this latest baseline could be used to make cost estimates for a new farm bill. That will be up to the congressional budget committees, and another baseline is expected to be released this spring.
More IRA funding available? The updated CBO baseline shows as much as $16.4 billion in from the Inflation Reduction Act could be repurposed in the farm bill, a $1.7-billion increase from the net outlays calculated by CBO last May, according to the Senate Ag analysis.
But, but, but: While net outlays for each of the four conservation programs covered by the funding differ slightly from last year, the biggest contributor to the overall difference in totals comes from a new line item titled “Technical Assistance," which includes $1.2 billion in net outlays. While these funds were also part of the 2023 analysis, they were accounted for differently, according to Senate Ag GOP spokesman Patrick Creamer.
Food companies: Standardize date labels to prevent food waste
The Zero Food Waste Coalition and 23 food companies are urging leaders of the House and Senate committees to step in and create standards for date labeling terms. There currently are 60 different types of standards in use across the U.S.
The letter calls for passage of the Food Date Labeling Act. It would give companies two options for such labeling: A “BEST If Used By” label providing the date "after which a food product’s quality may deteriorate” or a “USE By” label displaying what date the product should be thrown out.
The current labeling environment, guided by a “patchwork” of state laws, can lead consumers to confusion over when they should throw out products they purchase, the organizations said. This uncertainty is believed to cause around 8% of consumer food waste, the letter says.
Take note: The companies on the letter include Amazon, Danone North America, DoorDash, Nestlé USA, Unilever, Walmart and Whole Foods Market.
For more on the issue of food waste and the White House strategy to reduce it, plus a look at major new market opportunities for biofuels, check out our weekly Agri-Pulse newsletter.
He said it. “Today’s report is a wake-up call to everyone who plays a role in agriculture policy or who shares an interest in preserving a thriving rural America – we are at a pivotal moment, in which we have the opportunity to hold tight to the status quo and shrink our nation’s agriculture sector further, or we can choose a more expansive, newer model that creates more opportunity, for more farmers.” – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on the 2022 ag census.
Steve Davies and Noah Wicks contributed to this report.
