Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack calls the data in the 2022 Census of Agriculture a “wake-up call” for the industry.
In a statement following the release of the Census, Vilsack says, “It’s imperative that we continue to deliver agriculture policies that create multiple streams of income and new, more competitive models for small- and mid-sized farms.”
The Census reports 141,733 fewer farms in 2022 than in 2017. The number of farm acres fell more than 20 million acres from just five years earlier.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall says, “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.”
Vilsack adds, “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.”
