State Overview -- The 2002 Agricultural Census Shows Little Change in Number and Size of Missouri Farms
The recently released 2002 Census of Agriculture reports 106,797 farms in Missouri. That is down slightly (3.7 percent) from the 110,986 farms reported in the 1997 Census of Agriculture. Despite the small decline from 1997-2002, the 106,797 Missouri farms remains the second largest number among the 50 states, trailing only Texas' 230,000 farms in 2002. Following Missouri, Iowa's 93,000 farms ranks 3rd nationally.
The data from the 2002 Census are somewhat surprising because there has been very little change in the number of farms and their size distribution from 1997 to 2002. That is unusual in comparison with the amount of change found between previous Agricultural Censuses - for example 1987-1992, 1992-1997.
Defining 2002 Missouri Farms by Commodity Sales
The 2002 Census reports Missouri farms sold $4.983 billion in agricultural commodities in 2001which is down slightly from total commodity sales of $5.466 billion in 1996, reported in the 1997 Census.
An important factor involved in understanding the size of farms in 2002 is less the number of acres included in a farm but rather the total market value of agricultural commodities sold by a farm in a particular year. The Agricultural Census uses the market value of agricultural commodities sold as the defining characteristic of a farm. The Agricultural Census counts a rural place as a farm if it produces and sells $1,000 worth of agricultural commodity sales in a year, or has the potential to produce and sell that amount. The market value of commodities produced and sold in a year has become a more useful measure of farm size in recent years as the number of farms that are producing and selling large market value of agricultural commodities (such as hogs, poultry, dairy, etc), under highly concentrated conditions, has increased.
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Missouri Farms by Commodity Sales Categories - 2002
Graph 1 shows the distribution of Missouri farms by the market value of agricultural commodities sold. The graph shows the number of Missouri farms in each commodity sales category and the percent of Missouri's total commodity sales produced by the farms in each category.
- The bottom line of the graph shows that in 2002 farms with commodity sales of less than $10,000 included 59.0 percent of all Missouri farms, but they only accounted for 3.5 percent of Missouri's $4.98 billion commodity sales. The next bar shows that 25.7 percent of Missouri farms had commodity sales of between $10,000 and $49,999 that accounted for 12.3 percent of total output. Thus, of Missouri's 106,797 farms, 84.7 percent had commodity sales of less than $50,000 in 2002 and, together, accounted for 15.8 percent of the states total market value of commodities sold. That is exactly the same as the proportions of farms and percent of total commodity sales reported in the 1997 Census of Agriculture. There was no change in the distribution from 1997-2002. Farms in this size range have often been referred to as part-time farms because their operators typically depend heavily on off-farm sources of income. Others have referred to farms in this size range as rural places to live rather than places to make a living.
- The third category from the bottom shows that 6.5 percent of all farms had commodity sales of between $50,000 and $99,999. The commodity sales of that group accounted for 9.8 percent of Missouri's total in 2002. That is close to the same as in 1997 when 6.1 percent of all farmers were in this sales category and together accounted for 8.7 percent of sales.
- The fourth and fifth categories on Graph 1 are those farms that had sales of between $100,000 and $500,000. These are generally regarded in the size range of full-time family type farms. As shown on the graph, 7.3 percent of Missouri farms have sales in this category and, they account for 34.4 percent of Missouri's total agricultural commodity sales. There was relatively little change in this sales category either from 1997-2002. About 8.2 percent of Missouri farms were in this category in 1997 and, together, they accounted for 35.7 percent of total commodity sales.
- The sixth category in the graph includes those farms whose total commodity sales exceed $500,000 per farm. The USDA and some other agricultural agencies have often referred to places in this size range as being industrial farms. In 2002 there were 1,632 (1.5 percent of total) farms in this category and, they accounted for 40.0 percent of state commodity sales. It is somewhat coincidental that in 1997 there were 1,691 farms (1.5 percent of total) in this category and, they accounted for 40.5 percent of state total commodity sales.
The Farms and the Farmers
Form of Organization: There was some change in the type of organization of Missouri farms between 1997 and 2002. Most farms have traditionally been owned and operated by a family or an individual. According to the 1997 Census, 89.2 percent of Missouri farms were owned and/or operated by an individual or family. Of the remaining farms 7.6 percent were organized as a partnership, 2.5 percent were organized as a corporation and 0.6 percent were organized as other forms.
There was modest change in form of organization by 2002. According to the most recent census, 92.1 percent of farms were organized and operated by a family or individual, 5.2 percent were organized as a partnership, 2.0 percent as a corporation and 0.7 percent as some other form.
Off-farm Work: The percent of farmers working off the farm declined from 59.4 percent in 1997 to 56.7 percent in 2002. In both 1997 and 2002 about 75 percent of farmers working off the farm were working full-time.
Primary Occupation: When completing the Agriculture Census form, farmers are asked to identify their principal occupation. In 1997 only 43 percent of the 110,000 Missouri farmers identified their principal occupation as farming. This is not surprising considering that 85 percent of Missouri farmers can be classified as part-time considering their relatively small sales of agricultural commodities. However, the 2002 Agricultural Census reports a significant change. In the 2002 Census 57 percent reported their principal occupation as farming - a significant increase from 1997. However, a partial explanation is that the Census reports that 29 percent of Missouri farmers are age 65 and older and, of that group, 30,800 (75 percent) reported farming as their principal occupation. In all age groups of farmers age 55 and under well over half reported something other than farming as their principal occupation.
Age of Farmers: The largest age group of Missouri farmers is those age 65 and older which comprise 29 percent of the 106,000 farmers. In order, farmers age 55-64 accounted for 24.1 percent, those age 45-54 accounted for 24.5 percent, those age 35-54 accounted for 16.1 percent, those age 25-34 accounted for 5.9 percent and those under age 25 accounted for 0.6 percent. It is significant that farmers age 55 and older account for more than half of all Missouri farmers. The large number of farmers age 65 and older is, however, not surprising. This is the case because many farmers who retire from full-time farming choose to rent out their cropland but continue to live on their farmstead and perhaps maintain some small enterprise such as a cow-calf herd.
Farms by Acreage Size: Of the 106,000 farms 23.1 percent include fewer than 50 acres, 37.2 percent include between 50 and 179 acres; 25.7 percent include from 180-499 acres and 14.0 percent include more than 500 acres. There was virtually no change in the size of farms by acres between 1997 and 2002.
Production of Crops and Livestock
In 2002 crops, including nursery and greenhouses, accounted for 40.0 percent of agricultural commodity sales. Among the crops, grains (corn, wheat) and oilseeds (soybeans) accounted for 77.5 percent of the total. Cotton accounted for 7.0 percent as did "other crops" and hay. Nursery and greenhouse crops accounted for an additional 5.0 percent. Fruits and vegetables accounted for another 3.0 percent.
Livestock, poultry and their products accounted for 60.0 percent of commodity sales in 2002. In 2002 the leader in livestock commodity sales was cattle and calves which accounted for 43.0 percent of livestock sales, followed by poultry and eggs which accounted for 26.3 percent, hogs and pigs which accounted for 19.0 percent and milk and dairy products which accounted for 10 percent. A major difference among the livestock producers is that 58,000 farms (54 percent of all farms) sold cattle and calves in 2002, while only 3,700 (3.5 percent of all farms) sold hogs and pigs, 3,200 (3.0 percent of all farms) sold dairy products and 3,100 (2.9 percent) sold poultry or eggs. Although many more farms produced and sold cattle, they accounted for 43 percent of total livestock sales while the 9.4 percent of farms selling hogs, poultry or dairy products accounted for 55 percent of total livestock sales.
For more information see the following tables:
All Missouri Counties |
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| Number of Missouri Farms with Change and Percent Change, 1997-2002 By County With State Totals | HTML | |
| Number of Farms by Commodity, 1997-2002 By County With State Totals | HTML | |
| Total Market Value of Agricultural Products, 1992-1997 By County With State Totals | HTML | |
| Missouri Farms by Selected Sales Categories, 2002 By County With State Totals | HTML | |
For more information see the following maps:
This file last modified Friday May 08, 2009, 14:28:07
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