Top California Agriculture Facts From the 2024 Census of Agriculture
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Producing over 400 different commodities (more than any other state in the U.S.), California agriculture makes a major impact on the state and national economy each year. According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, there are 63,134 farms in California with a market value of agricultural products sold totaling more than $59 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 California has decreased by 10% since 2017 and by 21% since 2002. However, there are still more than 24 million acres of farm land in California, and the state’s average farm size is 383 acres.
The market value of crops grown in California, including nursery and greenhouse crops, totaled nearly $42 billion in 2022. The market value of livestock, poultry and their products, including beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, came to more than $16 billion.
What Are California’s Top Agricultural Products?
According to the most recent available cash receipts (the total amount of crops or livestock sold in a calendar year), California’s top agricultural products include dairy products and milk, grapes, lettuce, cattle and calves, and almonds, to name just a few.
See More: California Agriculture
Who Owns California Farms?
The Census of Agriculture calculates farm ownership by the farm’s legal status for tax purposes. Like many states, California farms are primarily owned and operated by families or individuals, with 44,941 family farms as of 2022. Corporations, which also include family corporations, accounted for 8,067 farms, or 12.8%, while 7,757 farms, or 12.2%, are owned by partnerships, including family partnerships. Other farms, such as estates or trusts, prison farms, grazing associations, American Indian Reservations, etc., make up about 3.8% of farms in California. When adding in family farms, family corporations and family partnerships, 90% of Caliornia farms are family owned.
California farmers are predominantly men. According to the Census of Agriculture, there were 74,679 male farmers in California in 2022, making up 62% of the state’s total producers. California’s 45,244 women farmers accounted for 38% of the total.
See More: 7 Crops Grown in California
How Old Are California Farmers?
Out of 119,923 farmers in California, most are over the age of 55. In fact, the average age of a California farmer is 59.9 years old, up from 59.2 years in 2017.
More than a quarter of California farmers (around 26.5%) fall into the age group of 65 to 74 years, and 25% of farmers are ages 55 to 64. Farmers aged 75 or older account for 16%, followed by farmers ranging from 45 to 54 years (14.5%), then farmers ages 35 to 44 (11.6%). Only 5.4% of California farmers are ages 25 to 34, and just 1,187 farmers are under 25, or about 1% of the total.
More California Farm Facts
Though the state counts more than 119,000 agricultural producers, 50% of California farmers have a primary occupation other than farming. Only 59,968 respondents to the Census of Agriculture said their primary occupation was farming.
Active duty military members and veterans also account for some farmers, as California has 8,677 farmers with current or past military service.
See More: What’s Growing? California Produce Calendar
According to the census, there are 427 Black farmers in California who farm 46,029 acres of land across 364 farms.
California is home to 36,300 new and beginning producers, up from 34,571 in 2017.
In 2022, California had a dairy cow inventory of 1,688,202 across 1,117 farms.
California has 3,060 USDA-certified organic farms, down from 3,409 in 2017.
Living up to its reputation as wine country, California harvested a whopping 829,352 acres of grapes across 9,941 farms in 2022.
See More: 7 Foods That Came From California