Top Arizona Agriculture Facts From the 2024 Census of Agriculture
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From the desert to the mountains, Arizona’s diverse climates make for a thriving and diverse agriculture industry with a major economic impact. According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, there are 16,710 farms in Arizona with a market value of agricultural products sold totaling more than $5 billion. (The 2022 Census of Agriculture data was released in February 2024 and is the most recent census data available.)
The number of farms in Arizona has decreased by 12% since 2017 but increased by a whopping 129% since 2002. There are more than 25 million acres of farm land in Arizona, and the state’s average farm size is 1,528 acres.
The market value of crops grown in Arizona, including nursery and greenhouse crops, totaled more than $3 billion in 2022. The market value of livestock, poultry and their products, including beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, came to around $2.16 billion.
What Are Arizona’s Top Agricultural Products?
According to the most recent available cash receipts (the total amount of crops or livestock sold in a calendar year), Arizona’s top agricultural products include dairy products and milk, lettuce, cattle and calves, hay, and spinach, to name a few.
See More: Arizona Agriculture
Who Owns Arizona Farms?
The Census of Agriculture calculates farm ownership by the farm’s legal status for tax purposes. Like many states, Arizona farms are primarily owned and operated by families or individuals, with 13,844 family farms as of 2022, or nearly 82% of all farms in the state. Partnerships accounted for 970 farms, or 5.8%, while other farms (such as estates or trusts, prison farms, grazing associations, American Indian Reservations, etc.), make up about 6.1% of farms in Arizona. Just under 900 farms, or 5.3%, are owned by corporations.
Arizona farmers are split relatively equally between men and women. According to the Census of Agriculture, there were 15,164 male farmers in Arizona in 2022, making up 52% of the state’s total producers. Arizona’s 13,936 women farmers accounted for the remaining 48% of the total.
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How Old Are Arizona Farmers?
Out of 29,100 farmers in Arizona, most are over the age of 55. In fact, the average age of an Arizona farmer is 60.1 years old, up from 59.4 years in 2017.
Just over a quarter of Arizona farmers (around 26%) fall into the age group of 55 to 64 years, and 25.8% of farmers are ages 65 to 74. Farmers over 75 years old account for 16.5%, followed by farmers ranging from 45 to 54 years old at 14.5%, then farmers ages 35 to 44 (10%). Only 5.1% of Arizona farmers are ages 25 to 34, and just 613 Arizona farmers are under 25, or about 2%.
More Arizona Farm Facts
Though the state counts more than 29,000 agricultural producers, 42% of Arizona farmers have a primary occupation other than farming. Only 16,936 respondents to the Census of Agriculture said their primary occupation was farming.
Active duty military members and veterans also account for some farmers, as Arizona has 2,148 farmers with current or past military service.
See More: What’s in Season? Arizona Produce Calendar
Arizona is home to 85 USDA-certified organic farms, up from 67 in 2017.
Arizona is home to 6,885 new and beginning farmers.
Arizona’s cattle and calf inventory totaled 997,842 across 5,864 farms in 2022.
The state’s honey business is also buzzing. Arizona’s 28,275 honeybee colonies produced more than 1.5 million pounds of honey in 2022.
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