1997 Census of Agriculture

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The Latest Numbers on Alabama Agriculture
3rd Butler/Cunningham Conference
November 8, 2004
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Farm Numbers
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Alabama Land in Farms

• Farm land accounted for 64 of the states total
  32.5 million acre land area in 1950
• In 1997, farm land accounted for 27

Source Census of Agriculture
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Trend Continues at Increasing Rate

• From 1997 to 2002, farm numbers declined 10
• Most were lt10K Sales
• 80 were lt180 acres
• Land in Farms declined 6

Source 2002 Census of Ag
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Harvested Cropland

• In 1997, cropland accounted for 6 of total farm
  land
• Cropland accounted for 18 of total land area in
  1950

Source Census of Agriculture
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Harvested Cropland
8 Decrease in 5 years
Source 2002 Census of Ag
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Farm Counts by Size
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Acres per Farm - 2002

• 75 of farms are 180 acres or less
• 500 acre plus farms make up 8 of total
• 2,000 acre plus farms total 523, or 1

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Farm Counts by Value of Sales
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Percent of Farms and Value of Sales
Source 2002 Census of Ag
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• 10 of Alabama farms produce 90 of the market
  value of products sold
• 1.4 of farms sell 1,000,000 or more of ag
  products and account for nearly 40 of all sales
• Nearly three-fourths of all farms sell less than
  10,000 of ag products (less than 3 of all sales)

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Farm Structure
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Net Returns per Farm
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Net Gains Losses

• More farms with losses than gains in 2002
• Farms w/gains averaged 21,000 on the plus side
• Farms w/losses averaged 10,000 loss
• Overall, farms averaged 7,100 gain

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Net Returns by Sales Group

• Farms with 10,000 or more in sales had a
  positive net return
• Farms with less than 10,000 in sales had a
  negative return

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Sales Category of Farms Gain/Loss

• 1,000,000 667
  229,556 Gain
• 500,000 999,999 1,403
  73,999 Gain
• 250,000 499,999 1,355
  52,195 Gain
• 100,000 249,000 1,299
  27,993 Gain
• 50,000 - 99,999 1,142
  12,131 Gain
• 25,000 - 49,999 1,825 6,061
  Gain
• 10,000 - 24,999 5,527 2,235
  Gain
• 5,000 - 9,999 6,274 1,450
  Loss
• 2,500 - 4,999 6,349 2,302
  Loss
• 1,000 - 2,499 6,368 2,728
  Loss
• Less than 1,000 13,185 2,812
  Loss

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Net Returns by Farm Type or Enterprise
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Farm Enterprise
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Net Returns per Farm
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• Most nursery operations (71) have less than
  50,000 net return.very large nurseries have
  major influence on average
• Likewise, about half of dairies net less than
  50,000 per farm not many left

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What do our largest farms look like?
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1,000,000 Plus Gross Sales

• 648 Farms (1 of all farms)
• 77 are poultry operations
• 7 are nursery/greenhouse operations
• 6 are row crop farms

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FarmDemographics
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Average Age of Principal Operator
Census Year
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Age Groups - 2002
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Tenure
Operators
72
18
3
7
Years on Farm
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Percent of Operators Total Income from Farming
of Operators
74
6
of Total Income
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Days Worked off the Farm
of operators

• 55 of primary operators worked off the farm
• Of those working off the farm, 75 worked 200
  days or more, essentially full time job

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• The larger the farm size, the fewer days worked
  off the farm
• However, a 260 acre farm still has as many
  primary operators working off the farm as not
• And, even the 2,000 acre plus farms have 31 of
  operators working off the farm, with 59 of those
  working 200 days or more

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Finally, the numbers tell a lot about Alabama
farmsBut,They dont tell an equally important
story - conservation practices of farms and their
contribution toward a safe and clean rural
environment
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www.usda.gov/nass

• Click on Census of Agriculture
• National, State, and County Data
• Data Queries

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