Top Kansas Agriculture Facts From the 2024 Census of Agriculture
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From corn and wheat to beef cattle, sunflowers and honey, Kansas agriculture is a diverse and thriving industry. According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, there are 55,734 farms in Kansas with a market value of agricultural products sold totaling nearly $24 billion. (The 2022 Census of Agriculture data came out in February 2024 and is the most recent census data available.)
The number of farms in Kansas has decreased by 5% since 2017 and by 13% since 2002. However, there are still more than 44 million acres of farm land in Kansas, and the state’s average farm size is 804 acres.
The market value of crops grown in Kansas, including nursery and greenhouse crops, totaled more than $8.4 billion in 2022. The market value of livestock, poultry and their products, including beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, came to nearly $15.6 billion.
What Are Kansas’ Top Agricultural Products?
According to the most recent available cash receipts (the total amount of crops or livestock sold in a calendar year), Kansas’ top agricultural products include cattle and calves, corn, wheat, soybeans and sorghum, to name a few.
See More: Kansas Agriculture
Who Owns Kansas Farms?
The Census of Agriculture calculates farm ownership by the farm’s legal status for tax purposes. Like many states, Kansas farms are primarily owned and operated by families or individuals, with 46,182 family farms as of 2022, or nearly 83% of all farms in the state. Partnerships accounted for 4,067 farms, or 7.3%, while 3,795 farms, or 6.8%, are owned by corporations. Other farms, such as estates or trusts, prison farms, grazing associations, American Indian Reservations, etc., make up about 3% of farms in Kansas.
Kansas farmers are predominantly men. According to the Census of Agriculture, there were 66,076 male farmers in Kansas in 2022, making up 66% of the state’s total producers. Kansas’ 34,579 women farmers accounted for 34% of the total.
See More: What’s Growing? Kansas Produce Calendar
How Old Are Kansas Farmers?
Out of 100,655 farmers in Kansas, most are over the age of 55. In fact, the average age of a Kansas farmer is 58.2 years old, up from 58.1 years in 2017.
Just over a quarter of Kansas farmers (around 25.8%) fall into the age group of 65 to 74 years, and 24% of farmers are ages 55 to 64. Farmers ranging from 45 to 54 years old account for 14.4%, followed by farmers over 75 years old (13.9%), then farmers ages 35 to 44 (12.3%). Only 7.9% of farmers are ages 25 to 34, and just 1,724 Kansas farmers are under 25, or about 1.7%.
See More: Kansas Sunflowers Bring Joy Across the State
More Kansas Farm Facts
Though the state counts more than 100,000 agricultural producers, 59% of Kansas farmers have a primary occupation other than farming. Only about 41,342 respondents to the Census of Agriculture said their primary occupation was farming.
Active duty military members and veterans also account for some farmers, as Kansas has 8,038 farmers with current or past military service.
According to the census, Kansas is home to 160 Black farmers who farm 63,933 acres of land across 123 farms.
Kansas has 28,535 new and beginning producers, 38% of whom are women.
Kansas has 154 USDA-certified organic farms, up from 106 in 2017.
The honey business is also buzzing in Kansas. The state counted 10,829 colonies of honeybees that produced 845,894 pounds of honey in 2022.
See More: Kansas Beekeepers and Organizations Help Promote Pollinators