Top Arkansas Agriculture Facts From the 2024 Census of Agriculture
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As Arkansas’ No. 1 industry, agriculture is a major contributor to the state economy. According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, there are 37,756 farms in Arkansas with a market value of agricultural products sold totaling nearly $14 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 Arkansas has decreased by 11% since 2017 and by 20.5% since 2002. However, there are still more than 13.7 million acres of farm land in Arkansas, with the state’s average farm size coming in at 363 acres.
The market value of crops grown in Arkansas, including nursery and greenhouse crops, totaled more than $5.3 billion in 2022. The market value of livestock, poultry and their products, including beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, came to nearly $8.6 billion.
What Are Arkansas’ Top Agricultural Products?
According to the most recent available cash receipts (the total amount of crops or livestock sold in a calendar year), Arkansas’ top agricultural products include broilers (chickens raised for meat), soybeans, rice, chicken eggs and corn, to name a few.
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Who Owns Arkansas Farms?
The Census of Agriculture calculates farm ownership by the farm’s legal status for tax purposes. Like many states, Arkansas farms are primarily owned and operated by families or individuals, with 32,437 family farms as of 2022, or almost 86% of all farms in the state. Partnerships accounted for 2,594 farms, or nearly 7%, while just over 2,000 farms, or 5.6%, are owned by corporations. Other farms, such as estates or trusts, prison farms, grazing associations, American Indian Reservations, etc., make up about 1.6% of farms in Arkansas.
Arkansas farmers are predominantly men. According to the Census of Agriculture, there were 41,145 male farmers in Arkansas in 2022, making up 61% of the state’s total producers. Arkansas’ 26,280 women farmers accounted for 39% of the total.
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How Old Are Arkansas Farmers?
Out of 67,425 farmers in Arkansas, most are over the age of 55. In fact, the average age of an Arkansas farmer is 57.6 years old, up from 57 years in 2017.
Around a quarter of Arkansas farmers (25.1%) fall into the age group of 55 to 64 years, and 23.3% of farmers are ages 65 to 74. Farmers ranging from 45 to 54 years old account for 16.8%, followed by farmers over 75 years old (13.2%), then farmers ages 35 to 44 (12.5%). Only 7.5% of farmers are ages 25 to 34, and just 1,104 Arkansas farmers are under 25, or about 1.6%.
More Arkansas Farm Facts
Though the state counts more than 67,000 agricultural producers, 56% of Arkansas farmers have a primary occupation other than farming. Only 29,397 respondents to the Census of Agriculture said their primary occupation was farming.
Active duty military members and veterans also account for some farmers, as Arkansas has 6,163 farmers with current or past military service.
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According to the census, there are 1,376 Black farmers in Arkansas who farm 267,082 acres of land across 917 farms.
Arkansas is home to 21,825 new and beginning producers, up from 20,747 in 2017.
Arkansas is home to 60 USDA-certified organic farms, up from 47 in 2017.
There are 1,438 farms using renewable energy-producing systems in Arkansas, up from 840 in 2017.
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