Ohio is losing farmland.
Between 2017 and 2022, the state lost more than 300,000 acres, according to the latest Census of Agriculture.
The data, released last month, offers a glimpse into the state of agriculture across the country. Every five years, the Department of Agriculture counts the nation’s farms and farmers, documents what plants they’re growing and animals they’re raising, and tracks how much money they’re making.
This census found more and more farms are going out of business, as farmland disappears to development and smaller operations get absorbed by larger ones.
“This survey is a wake-up call,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack when the data was released.
“I’m concerned about the state of agriculture and food production in this country.”
Here’s what the farm data says about Ohio:
- Ohio lost a lot of farmland Two decades ago, Ohio had more than 14.5 million acres of farmland. Since then, it’s lost nearly a million acres — about a third of those acres between 2017 and 2022.
- Farms in Ohio, and nationwide, are consolidating As the amount of farmland in Ohio decreases, so does the number of farms. There are about 1,800 fewer farms now than there were in 2017.
Mid-size farms, which have between 140 and 1,000 acres, took an especially big hit.
“The farm economy that we've had over the last several years has not been conducive for that,” Higgins said.
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Categories: Ohio, General