News Archives

Farming: A statistical snapshot

8/1/2003 News media contact: Kathy Gilbert · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn.

This report is a sidebar to UMNS story #390.

By United Methodist News Service

Key statistics reflect the changing nature of farming in the United States.

· The number of U.S. farms has decreased from 2.7 million in 1969 to 1.9 million in 1997.
· In 1920, the United States had more than 925,000 black-operated farms. Today, it has fewer than 18,500. The current rate of agricultural loss by black farmers is more than twice that of other American farmers.
· Nearly half of all farmers are over age 55, while just 8 percent are under 35.
· The farmer's share of each food dollar has dropped steadily over the last 40 years, from 41 cents in 1950 to only 20 cents in 1999.
· In 1998, farmers earned an average of only $7,000 per year from their farming operations.
· Large farms receive nearly twice as much in government payments as do small farms.
· Two percent of U.S. farms account for half of the nation's agricultural product sales, a reflection of corporate consolidation in farming.

Sources: U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (1997 figures); U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; Farm Aid Web site (www.farmaid.org).

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