The U.S. saw a loss of 5,800 farms in 2019 versus 2018, per USDA. But, that’s the smallest decline in recent years. Since 2012, the average year-over-year decline in the number of farms was around 12,000, with the biggest drop being between 2014 and 2015.
In 2019 the total number of farms in the U.S. totals 2,023,400.
By far, Texas is the winner in farm numbers, with 247,000 farms.
Top 10 States in number of farms
- Texas: 247,000
- Missouri: 95,200
- Iowa: 85,300
- Ohio: 77,800
- Oklahoma: 77,300
- Kentucky: 74,800
- Illinois: 71,400
- California: 69,900
- Tennessee: 69,700
- Minnesota: 68,000
The total land in farms, at 897,400,000 acres, decreased 2,100,000 acres from 2018. This slight year-over-year drop is on par with recent years and a sign farmland isn’t vanishing as quickly as some think.
The average farm size for 2019 is 444 acres, which is up 1 acre from the previous year.
States in the west tend to have the largest average farm sizes.
Top 10 States in average farms size
(acres)
- Wyoming: 2,417
- Montana: 2,164
- Nevada: 1,821
- New Mexico: 1,613
- North Dakota: 1,506
- South Dakota: 1,459
- Arizona: 1,379
- Nebraska: 982
- Colorado: 822
- Alaska: 810
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