Trends from the 2022 ag census

Trends for agriculture in Minnesota seem to be on par with the rest of the U.S., but in some areas, we are bucking the trends. The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service recently released the 2022 Census of Agriculture report. The report shows that there continue to be fewer farms on the landscape across the U.S., and that holds true in Minnesota, however, Minnesota has more farmers in 2022 than in 2017.

The ag census has been conducted since 1840, so this data helps us see historical trends to understand what is happening on farms across the nation. The data helps policymakers develop programs and services that support farmers and ranchers. UMN Extension extends its sincere thanks to all Minnesota farmers who filled out the census.

The 2022 ag census report shows Minnesota has 65,531 farms, down 4.7% from the 2017 census when Minnesota had 68,822 farms. There are many reasons for the numbers to change: a farmer sells to a neighbor as they get ready to retire, a child joins the farm operation or takes over as the primary producer, or land comes out of CRP and is in production again.

Trends show farms have gotten incrementally larger. Twenty-five years ago the 1997 census reported 78,775 farms in Minnesota with an average size of 350 acres. In 2017, farms had an average size of 371 acres. According to the 2022 census, the farm size in Minnesota averages 388 acres, a 4% growth on average for farm size since the last census.

Women’s role in agriculture

Another trend in Minnesota is the growth in number of women farmers. This statistic bucks a national trend for the numbers of female farmers tapering and declining for the 2022 Census of Agriculture.

The Census of Agriculture asked for the gender of a farmer for the first time in 1978.  That meant for the first time in history, females involved with farming could be counted. However, the census only asked for information for one farm operator, ignoring that it is common for two or more people to partner to run a farm. In 2002, the census allowed up to three farm operators to be listed for each farm; in 2017, the census allowed up to four operators to be listed per farm and more than one farm member could be designated as a “principal producer.”

Trends for Minnesota women farmers

Of the 65,531 Minnesota farms counted in the 2022 census, there are 114,868 total farm producers in Minnesota. Of those producers, 31% or 35,623 are female. Women producers manage 9,634,361 acres of farmland across Minnesota. This has remained a constant percentage since the last census.

There has been an increase in female farmers listing their primary occupation as farming, rather than listing off-farm jobs as the primary occupation. Women who state their primary occupation as farming increased by 270 women farmers to 11,722 from the 2017 census at 11,452. The opposite is true of male farmers, where in 2017 more than one million male farmers reported their primary occupation as farming, whereas in 2022, the number dropped to 993,375 farmers.

According to the 2022 census, female farmers and ranchers are involved with every type of farming available to growers in Minnesota including producing grains and oilseed crops (almost 10,000 female farmers); raising hay and other crops such as grass seed, hay seed, maple sap, and sugar beet farming (almost 10,000 female farmers); raising beef cattle by ranching or feedlots (4,303 female farmers); producing milk and raising dairy cattle (948 female farmers), vegetable, melon, greenhouse, nursery, floriculture, fruit and tree nut production (2,038 female farmers); raising poultry and producing eggs (1,307 female farmers); raising sheep and goats (1,093 farmers) and aquaculture and other animal production such as horses and rabbits (2,769).