2002 census of agriculture : an overview of changes in U.S. and Colorado farm structure, The

An evaluation of the 2002 Census of Agriculture data released in June 2004 indicates some interesting changes in the structure of agriculture and farms for both the United States and Colorado. There are various definitions of “farm structure”, but two characteristics that are usually discussed when evaluating farm structure are the number of farms and the size of farms. This fact sheet provides a brief discussion on U.S. and Colorado farm numbers, farm size, organizational structure of farms, and primary occupation of farm operators based on data from the most recent 2002 Census of Agriculture. The Number of Farms in the U.S. and Colorado The number of farms in the United States peaked in 1935 at 6.8 million farms. Increases in agricultural productivity and more off-farm employment opportunities were likely causes of the 66% decline in farms that occurred from 1935 to 1974. However, since 1974, the number of farms in the United States has tended to stay more constant, declining an average of 3.7% every 5 years from 1974 to 1997 (Figure 1). Conversely, the 2002 Census of Agriculture numbers indicate a break from the previous trend of declining U.S. farm numbers. From 1997 to 2002, the number of farms in the United States actually increased by 11.4%. Additionally, as Figure 1 indicates, since peaking in 1992, the average farm size (acres per farm) has declined. In 2002, the average U.S. farm size was only 441 acres, 10% smaller than the average farm size in 1992.