Consider this: Five years ago, concepts like widespread 5G connectivity, electric and autonomous vehicles or the capabilities of tools like ChatGPT were on the horizon but far from everyday norms.
Fast-forward to today: Since the last Census of Agriculture in 2017, the world has weathered a whirlwind of events – from the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, including business closures, supply chain disruptions, recessionary pressures and shifts in consumer behavior, to trade tensions, the war between Russia and Ukraine, and an increasing regulatory focus on environmental sustainability.
With the recent release of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, we now have a clearer picture of agriculture’s changing landscape and, more specifically, how those shifting dynamics look in our state.
One notable trend highlighted in the census on a national scale is the number of new and beginning farmers. While the average age of farmers saw a slight increase from 57.5 to 58.1 between 2017 and 2022, there was a noticeable change in those entering the industry with 10 or fewer years of experience. Slightly over 1 million of the 3.4 million producers in 2022 were beginning farmers, with an average age of 47.1, and their farms were smaller than average in both acres and sales. The number of farmers in the census’s young producers category (35 or younger) also showed a slight uptick.
In Idaho specifically, we observed a 14% increase in beginning farmers, totaling 14,798 individuals with 10 or fewer years of farm experience. This placed Idaho at No. 8 among the top 10 states experiencing this change in producer dynamics. It seems that Idaho's growing population and perhaps even the national trend toward remote work have made farming – at least on a small scale – an increasingly appealing and attainable option for many.
Another significant discovery was the loss of farmland across the U.S., with the overall number of farms decreasing by about 142,000. While this may not immediately raise alarms, the 7% decrease represents a larger percentage decline than what has been observed in the past 20 years. In Idaho, we witnessed an 8.5% decrease in the number of farms, dropping from 24,996 in 2017 to 22,877 in 2022. Interestingly, despite this decline, the average farm size in Idaho has actually increased.
Some other points specific to Idaho:
- The state’s farm-related income besides commodity sales tallied $327,387,000, up 23% from 2017.
- Idaho agritourism brought in $16,909,000 total (25th in the nation) in 2022, an 83% increase from 2017. With 200 operations reporting agritourism income, Idaho ranks 5th in the nation with $85,545 of agritourism income per operation.
- Idaho’s average value of commodity sales per farm operation is $476,120, ranking 6th in the nation with average sales per farm.
- Idaho’s total market value of agricultural products sold of $10,892,201,000 in 2022, represents about 2% of U.S. agricultural sales (ranking 19th in the nation).
- Of the 3,143 counties in the nation, Cassia and Twin Falls counties ranked 40th and 41st respectively for value of agricultural products sold. Gooding County was close behind at 44th.
- Cattle continue to outnumber people in Idaho, with 2.5 million head of cattle at the end of 2022 and 1.9 million people estimated living in Idaho in 2022.
Looking ahead, one can't help but wonder: What will the next five years bring? For those eager to delve into the comprehensive census report and its highlights, the complete details are available at the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service website.
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