1

Puerto Rico had 13,159 farms in 2012, occupying a total of 584,988 cuerdas. 

This was a 16 percent decrease in the number of farms, and a 5 percent 

increase in farmland, since 2007. During the same time, sales of agricultural 

products increased 6 percent. The concentration of farms was higher on the 

western side of the island than the eastern, and five municipios had 400 or more 

farms in 2012 (Fig.1). 

These are among the many findings in the 2012 Census of Agriculture. 

Conducted every five years and scheduled again for 2017, the census collects 

data on the 

number 

of farms, 

commodities 

produced, 

level of sales, 

production 

practices, 

producer 

demographics, 

and much 

more.

Farmland

Eighty-three percent of farms in Puerto 

Rico had fewer than 50 cuerdas in 

land in 2012, including 39 percent 

that had fewer than 10 cuerdas. 

Seventeen percent of farms had 50 

or more cuerdas. (Table 1) Cropland 

accounted for 74 percent of farmland, 

of which more than half was used for 

pasture or grazing. The remaining 

26 percent of farmland was used for 

pasture and rangeland, woodland, 

house lots, buildings, ponds, roads, 

and wasteland.

Puerto Rico Agriculture 

Results from the 2012 Census of Agriculture

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

www.agcensus.usda.gov

(800)727-9540

ACH12-28/September 2015

Highlights

13,159 farms. . .

. . . sold $547.6 million in agricultural products in 2012.

Top Commodities

($ millions)

Milk and other dairy 189.4

Plantains 80.5

Vegetables and melons 47.1

Poultry and eggs 40.4

Nursery and greenhouse 37.5

Top Municipios

($ millions)

Arecibo 44.8

Hatillo 42.3

Santa Isabel 36.2

Camuy 29.1

Yabucoa 26.6

Table 1

Farms by Size, 2012

Farm Size 

(cuerdas)

 Share of Farms

 number percent

< 10 5,129 39

10 – 19 2,859 22

20 – 49 2,872 22

50 – 99 940 7

100 – 174 563 4

175 – 259 401 3

260 + 395 3

Total 13,159 100

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture: Puerto Rico, 

Island and Municipio Data.

Fig. 1

Number of Farms, by Municipio, 2012

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture: Puerto Rico, Island and Municipio Data.

< 50 

50 - 99

100 - 199

200 - 399

400 +

Island = 13,159
2 USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Farm Sales

Puerto Rico’s total agricultural sales in 2012 amounted to 

$547.6 million, up from $515.7 million in 2007 but lower 

than the value of sales in 2002 ($581.5 million). The 

municipio of Arecibo had the highest level of agricultural 

sales, valued at $44.8 million. Five municipios had agricultural sales of more than $20 million in 2012. (Fig. 2) 

Fig. 2 

Agriculture Sales, by Municipio, 2012

Island = $547.6 million

no sales

< 1.0

1.0 - < 2.5

2.5 - < 5.0 10.0 - < 20.0

5.0 - < 10.0 20 +

$ millions

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture: Puerto Rico, Island and Municipio Data.

Per farm average sales in 2012 were $41,616 (compared 

with $32,752 in 2007). But only 13 percent of farms had 

agricultural product sales of $40,000 or more. More than 

half of farms (53 

percent) had 

sales of less than 

$5,000, including 

23 percent of 

farms that sold 

less than $1,000 

in agricultural 

products for the 

year. (Table 2)

Table 2

Farms by Sales, 2012

Farm Sales Share of Farms

 number percent

< $1,000 2,973 23

$1,000 - $2,499 2,015 15

$2,500 - $4,999 1,986 15

$5,000 - $9,999 1,980 15

$10,000 - $39,999 2,489 19

$40,000 + 1,716 13

Total 13,159 100

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture: Puerto Rico, 

Island and Municipio Data.

To learn more about farms and farmers in Puerto Rico, the 2012 Puerto Rico Census of Agriculture, and how to access 

island and municipio data, go to:

www.agcensus.usda.gov

Producer Characteristics

The census collected demographic information on each 

farm’s principal operator, defined as the person responsible 

for the day-to-day operation of the farm. 

Of the 13,159 principal operators, 92 percent were male, 

58 percent considered something other than farming to be 

their primary occupation, and more than half (57 percent) 

had received a high school diploma, GED certificate, or 

higher. Principal operators’ average age was 59 years, and 

for 58 percent of farmers, farming contributed less than 25 

percent of their total income. (Table 3)

Table 3

Puerto Rican Farmers: Key Characteristics, 2012

(principal operators)

number percent

Gender

Male 12,066 92

Female 1,093 8

Age 

Under 35 years 507 4

35 to 64 years 7,917 60

65 years or older 4,735 36

Primary Occupation

Agriculture 5,463 42

Other than agriculture 7,696 58

Percent of Income from Farming

< 25% 7,591 58

25% to 49% 1,984 15

50% to 74% 1,379 10

> 75% 2,205 17

Highest School Year Completed

 None 272 2

 Elementary school 2,537 19

 Secondary school 2,923 22

 High school diploma or GED 2,643 20

 Some college 1,959 15

 Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. 2,825 22

Average Age (59 years)

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture: Puerto Rico, Island and Municipio Data.