The most recent Census of Agriculture reports that in 2017, there were 674,940 principal beginning farmers and 908,274 new farmers.
While the increase in overall livestock herds seems decent at a glance, each individual industry and the segments within each tell their own stories.
Trends are showing the gray beneath farmers’ caps, but there are still youngsters moving up the ladder to meet future demands.
The 2017 Census of Agriculture was supposed to be released Feb. 21, but the government shutdown earlier has delayed it until April 11.
Officially the deadline to file the latest Census of Agriculture documents — whether online or through the mail — has passed. Of course, if you haven’t filed, the USDA isn’t going to let you off the hook, no matter how you feel about the process. In a statement, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service wanted to […]
The numbers never lie, except when they do. The last Census of Agriculture, conducted in 2012, showed us that the number of women in the industry has declined. While that’s true based on the questions that the National Agricultural Statistics Service asked, it doesn’t fully capture women’s roles on American agriculture. “Women across the board […]