This article has been reprinted from the Feb. 18 USDA Grain Transportation Report.
Last week, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
The Census is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them.
It also provides valuable insights into demographics, economics, land and activities on U.S. farms and ranches.
Among the findings, there are 2.04 million farms and ranches (down 3.2 percent from 2012) with an average size of 441 acres (up 1.6 percent) on 900 million acres (down 1.6 percent).
In addition, farm expenses are $326 billion with feed, livestock purchased, hired labor, fertilizer and cash rents topping the list of farm expenses in 2017.