Top Mississippi Agriculture Facts From the 2024 Census of Agriculture
In partnership with: Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce
Download Mississippi Census of Ag Infographic PDF
As Mississippi’s leading industry, agriculture is a major contributor to the state economy. According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, Mississippi has 31,290 farms with a market value of agricultural products sold totaling more than $8.2 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 Mississippi has decreased by 11% since 2017 and by 26% since 2002. However, there are still more than 10.2 million acres of farm land in Mississippi, and the state’s average farm size is 328 acres.
The market value of crops grown in Mississippi, including nursery and greenhouse crops, totaled more than $3.3 billion in 2022. The market value of livestock, poultry and their products, including beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, came to nearly $5 billion.
Take a look at the infographic below to learn more Mississippi farm facts. Click on the infographic to download.
What Are Mississippi’s Top Agricultural Products?
According to the most recent available cash receipts (the total amount of crops or livestock sold in a calendar year), Mississippi’s top agricultural products include broilers (chickens raised for meat), soybeans, corn, cotton, chicken eggs and catfish, to name a few.
See More: Mississippi Agriculture
Who Owns Mississippi Farms?
The Census of Agriculture calculates farm ownership by the farm’s legal status for tax purposes. Like many states, Mississippi farms are primarily owned and operated by families or individuals, with 26,892 family farms as of 2022, or about 86% of all farms in the state. Partnerships accounted for 2,539 farms, or 8%, while just over 1,500 farms, or 5%, are owned by corporations. Other farms, such as estates or trusts, prison farms, grazing associations, American Indian Reservations, etc., make up about 1% of farms in Mississippi.
Mississippi farmers are predominantly men. According to the Census of Agriculture, there were 34,122 male farmers in Mississippi in 2022, making up 66% of the state’s total producers. Mississippi’s 17,903 women farmers accounted for 34% of the total.
See More: Rural Mississippi Farms Receive Support for Eco-Friendly Practices
How Old Are Mississippi Farmers?
Out of 52,025 farmers in Mississippi, most are over the age of 55. In fact, the average age of a Mississippi farmer is 59.6 years old, up from 58.9 years in 2017.
Just over a quarter of Mississippi farmers (around 26.7%) fall into the age group of 65 to 74 years, and 24% of farmers are ages 55 to 64. Farmers aged 75 or older account for 15.7%, followed by farmers ranging from 45 to 54 years old (15.4%), then farmers ages 35 to 44 (11.3%). Only 5.5% of farmers are ages 25 to 34, and just 725 Mississippi farmers are under 25, or about 1.4%.
See More: Discover Mississippi’s Delta Region Products
More Mississippi Farm Facts
Though the state counts more than 52,000 agricultural producers, 60% of Mississippi farmers have a primary occupation other than farming. Only about 21,000 respondents to the Census of Agriculture said their primary occupation was farming.
Active duty military members and veterans also account for some farmers, as Mississippi has 4,897 farmers with current or past military service.
According to the census, there are 6,267 Black farmers in Mississippi who farm 741,466 acres of land across 4,312 farms.
Mississippi counted 16,686 new and beginning farmers in 2022, up from 15,374 in 2017.
There are 31,678 horses across 6,164 farms in Mississippi.
Mississippi farmers cultivated 1,397 acres of berries and 527 acres of grapes in 2022.
See More: Find the Napa Valley of the South in Clarke County, Mississippi