Top Louisiana Agriculture Facts From the 2024 Census of Agriculture
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Agriculture is an important industry in Louisiana, and farmers across the Bayou State produce a long list of important commodities that feed the state and nation. According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, there are 25,006 farms in Louisiana with a market value of agricultural products sold totaling more than $4.8 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 Louisiana has decreased by 8.7% since 2017 and by 8.8% since 2002. However, there are still nearly 8 million acres of farm land in Louisiana, and the state’s average farm size is 319 acres.
The market value of crops grown in Louisiana, including nursery and greenhouse crops, totaled nearly $3.4 billion in 2022. The market value of livestock, poultry and their products, including beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, came to more than $1.4 billion.
What Are Louisiana’s Top Agricultural Products?
According to the most recent available cash receipts (the total amount of crops or livestock sold in a calendar year), Louisiana’s top agricultural products include broilers (chickens raised for meat), sugarcane for sugar and seed, soybeans, corn, rice, and cattle and calves, to name a few.
See More: Louisiana Agriculture
Who Owns Louisiana Farms?
The Census of Agriculture calculates farm ownership by the farm’s legal status for tax purposes. Like many states, Louisiana farms are primarily owned and operated by families or individuals, with 21,134 family farms as of 2022, or about 84.5% of all farms in the state. Partnerships accounted for 1,848 farms, or 7.4%, while corporations own just over 1,700 farms, or 7.1%. Other farms, such as estates or trusts, prison farms, grazing associations, American Indian Reservations, etc., make up about 1% of farms in Louisiana.
Louisiana farmers are predominantly men. According to the Census of Agriculture, there were 27,391 male farmers in Louisiana in 2022, making up 64% of the state’s total producers. Louisiana’s 15,160 women farmers accounted for 36% of the total.
See More: What’s Growing? Louisiana Produce Calendar
How Old Are Louisiana Farmers?
Out of 42,551 farmers in Louisiana, most are over the age of 55. In fact, the average age of a Louisiana farmer is 58 years old, up from 57.4 years in 2017.
Just over a quarter of Louisiana farmers (around 25.4%) fall into the age group of 55 to 64 years, and 24.6% of farmers are ages 65 to 74. Farmers ranging from 45 to 54 years old account for 16.6%, followed by farmers over 75 years old (13%), then farmers ages 35 to 44 (12%). Only 6.7% of farmers are ages 25 to 34, and just 737 Louisiana farmers are under 25, or about 1.7%.
More Louisiana Farm Facts
Though the state counts more than 42,000 agricultural producers, 61% of Louisiana farmers have a primary occupation other than farming. Only about 16,735 respondents to the Census of Agriculture said their primary occupation was farming.
Active duty military members and veterans also account for some farmers, as Louisiana has 3,791 farmers with current or past military service.
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According to the census, there are 2,857 Black farmers in Louisiana who farm 226,135 acres of land across 1,900 farms.
Producers of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin farmed 220,769 acres in Louisiana in 2022, up from 176,787 acres in 2017.
Louisiana counted 13,778 new and beginning producers in 2022.
Louisiana is home to 14 USDA-certified organic farms.
The state has 13,770 acres of land in orchards.
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