Top Iowa Agriculture Facts From the 2024 Census of Agriculture
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Iowa is an agricultural powerhouse, ranking among the top states in the nation for ag production. According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, there are 86,911 farms in Iowa with a market value of agricultural products sold totaling more than $43.9 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 Iowa has increased by 1% since 2017 and decreased by 4% since 2002. There are still nearly 30 million acres of farm land in Iowa, and the state’s average farm size is 345 acres.
The market value of crops grown in Iowa, including nursery and greenhouse crops, totaled more than $23.5 billion in 2022. The market value of livestock, poultry and their products, including beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, came to nearly $20.4 billion.
What Are Iowa’s Top Agricultural Products?
According to the most recent available cash receipts (the total amount of crops or livestock sold in a calendar year), Iowa’s top agricultural products include corn, hogs, soybeans, cattle and calves, and chicken eggs, to name a few.
See More: Iowa Agriculture
Who Owns Iowa Farms?
The Census of Agriculture calculates farm ownership by the farm’s legal status for tax purposes. Like many states, Iowa farms are primarily owned and operated by families or individuals, with 71,127 family farms as of 2022, or nearly 82% of all farms in the state. Corporations accounted for 8,258 farms, or 9.5%, while 5,295 farms, or 6.1%, are owned by partnerships. Other farms, such as estates or trusts, prison farms, grazing associations, American Indian Reservations, etc., make up about 2.6% of farms in Iowa.
Iowa farmers are predominantly men. According to the Census of Agriculture, there were 103,417 male farmers in Iowa in 2022, making up 67% of the state’s total producers. Iowa’s 50,263 women farmers accounted for 33% of the total.
See More: What’s Growing? Iowa Produce Calendar
How Old Are Iowa Farmers?
Out of 153,680 farmers in Iowa, most are over the age of 55. In fact, the average age of an Iowa farmer is 57.6 years old, up from 57.4 years in 2017.
Just under a quarter of Iowa farmers (around 24.2%) fall into the age group of 64 to 75 years, and 23.9% of farmers are ages 55 to 64. Farmers ranging from 45 to 54 years old account for 14.1%, followed by farmers ages 35 to 44 (13.8%), then farmers aged 75 or older (13.7%). Only 8.8% of farmers are ages 25 to 34, and just 2,253 Iowa farmers are under 25, or about 1.5%.
More Iowa Farm Facts
Though the state counts more than 150,000 agricultural producers, 56% of Iowa farmers have a primary occupation other than farming. Only about 67,629 respondents to the Census of Agriculture said their primary occupation was farming.
Active duty military members and veterans also account for some farmers, as Iowa has 11,438 farmers with current or past military service.
See More: 6 Must-Visit Agritourism Destinations in Iowa
Iowa is home to 747 USDA-certified organic farms, down from 758 in 2017.
Iowa farmers harvested more than 12.6 million acres of corn for grain and more than 250,000 acres of corn for silage in 2022.
In 2022, Iowa was home to 50,802 colonies of honeybees that produced 2.1 million pounds of honey.
Finally, Iowa counted 41,264 new and beginning producers in 2022, up from 31,183 in 2017.
See More: 5 Stops to Check Out on the Iowa Farm to Fork Road Trip