Farms and Farmland

ACH17-3/August 2019

Highlights Farms and farmland continue to decline as average farm size increases

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus

Farms and Land

In 2017, the United States had just 

over 2 million farms, down 3.2 percent 

from 2012. These farms accounted for 

900.2 million acres of land in farms, 

or 40 percent of all U.S. land. This was 

a decline of 14.3 million acres 

(1.6 percent) from the 2012 level. 

During the same time, the average 

farm size increased 1.6 percent, from 

434 acres in 2012 to 441 acres in 2017. 

Between 2012 and 2017, only the 

smallest farms (less than 10 acres 

in size) and the largest farms (2,000 

acres or larger) increased in number. 

All categories of farms between the 

smallest and largest decreased in 

number.

In the five years between 2012, when the last Census of Agriculture was 

conducted, and 2017, the number of farms in the United States and the 

amount of land in farms continued their gradual decline and average farm 

size continued to increase. The amount and direction of change varied by 

state and by county but farmland continued to be most heavily concentrated 

in the center of the country.

Two out of five acres 

of land in the United 

States are farmland. 

But the distribution 

of that land varies. In 

many counties from 

North Dakota down 

through Texas, more 

than 70 percent of land 

is used for agriculture.

2,042,220 

farms

900.2 million 

acres

441 acres 

average farm size 

What is a “Farm”?

Since 1974, the Census of Agriculture 

has defined a farm as any place from 

which $1,000 or more of agricultural 

products were produced and sold, or 

normally would have been sold, during 

the census year.

Farmland as Percent of Land Area by County, 2017

< 10

10 - 29

30 - 49

50 - 69

70 - 89

90 +

U.S. = 40

Between 1997 and 

2017, the number of 

U.S. farms declined 

8 percent and the 

amount of farmland 

declined 6 percent.

No. of farms (millions)

2.22

2.13

2.2

2.11

2.04

955

938 922 915 900

Land in farms (million acres)

1997 2002 2007 2012 2017

Farms and Farmland, 2012 and 2017

2012 2017 % change

Number of farms 2,109,303 2,042,220 -3.2

Land in farms (acres) 914,527,657 900,217,576 -1.6

Average farm size (acres) 434 441 +1.6

Twenty-year Trends, 1997–2017
About the Census

The Census of Agriculture, conducted 

once every five years, is a complete 

count of U.S. farms and ranches and 

the people who operate them. Results 

from the 2017 and earlier censuses are 

available at national, state, and county 

levels. 

See the searchable database Quick 

Stats, the new Census Data Query Tool, 

downloadable PDF reports, maps, and a 

variety of topic-specific products. 

www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus

Source: USDA NASS, 2017 Census of Agriculture.

U.S. Farms by Location

Counties in Kentucky, Tennessee, and 

eastern Texas have high farm densities. 

With nearly a quarter million farms, Texas 

has more than twice as many farms as the 

next state. 

California, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota 

had the largest declines in farm numbers. 

Nevada, Rhode Island, North Dakota, and 

Pennsylvania had the largest percentage 

declines.

Top States

no. of

farms 

Texas 248,416

Missouri 95,320

Iowa 86,104

Oklahoma 78,531

Ohio 77,805

Kentucky 75,966

Illinois 72,651

California 70,521

Tennessee 69,983

Minnesota 68,822

Number of Farms, 2017

1 dot = 200 farms

U.S. = 2,042,220

Farms and Land by Size of Farm

% of total farms

<1 % of total farmland

13 1 to 9 acres

2

29 10 to 49 acres

6

28 50 to 179 acres

10

15 180 to 499 acres

10

7 500 to 999 acres

13

4 1,000 to 1,999 acres

58

4 2,000 acres or more

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

In 2017, the largest 

4 percent of U.S. farms 

(2,000 or more acres) 

controlled 58 percent 

of all farmland, 

while 13 percent of 

farms (1 to 9 acres in 

size) controlled 0.14 

percent of farmland. 

In 1997, the largest 

farms controlled 

50 percent of all 

farmland.

% of 

farmland

% of 

farms

Oilseeds and grains 30 16

Specialty crops

(fruits, vegetables, nursery) 3 9

Other crops 13 22

Cattle and dairy 44 34

Hogs and pigs 1 1

Poultry and eggs 1 2

Sheep and goats 2 5

Other animals 6 11

% of 

farms

% of 

farmland

Average size

acres dollars

Full owners 69 34 220 100,738

Part owners 24 56 1,020 418,884

Tenants 7 10 620 285,606

Land Use

Nine out ten acres of agricultural land in 2017 were 

either permanent pasture or cropland. Woodland 

accounted for 8 percent of farmland, and the 

remaining 3 percent includes land in farmsteads, 

buildings, livestock facilities, etc. Midwestern 

states have large amounts of cropland; most 

permanent pasture is in the western states. 

Farm Specializationa

Three fourths of farmland is used by farms 

specializing in two commodity categories: 

oilseed and grain production (30 percent) 

and cattle and dairy production (44 percent).

acres

(mil)

% of

total

Permanent pasture 401 45

Cropland 396 44

 Harvested 320 36

Woodland 73 8

Other 30 3

Total 900 100

a Refers to the North American Industry Classification System 

(NAICS). More than half of a farm’s sales come from the 

commodity.

Land Ownership

A farm may be operated by full owners (own all the land they farm), part owners (rent some 

farmland but own some as well), or tenants (rent all the land they farm). In 2017, farms 

operated by part owners accounted for just under one fourth of 

all farms but 56 percent of all farmland. These farms were larger 

than others in both acres operated and agriculture sales. 

40

692,625

The percent of U.S. 

farmland rented 

from others. 

The number of farms specializing in 

cattle and dairy production in 2017.