Top New Mexico Agriculture Facts From the 2024 Census of Agriculture
In partnership with: New Mexico Department of Agriculture
Download New Mexico Census of Ag Infographic PDF
From beef and dairy to pecans and chile peppers, New Mexico agriculture contributes a long list of commodities to the state and nation. The industry is also a significant contributor to the state economy each year. According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, there are 20,976 farms in New Mexico with a market value of agricultural products sold totaling more than $2.9 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 New Mexico has decreased by 16% since 2017 but increased by 38% since 2002. There are more than 39 million acres of farm land in New Mexico, and the state’s average farm size is 1,865 acres.
The market value of crops grown in New Mexico, including nursery and greenhouse crops, totaled nearly $896 million in 2022. The market value of livestock, poultry and their products, including beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, came to more than $2 billion.
What Are New Mexico’s Top Agricultural Products?
According to the most recent available cash receipts (the total amount of crops or livestock sold in a calendar year), New Mexico’s top agricultural products include milk and other dairy products, cattle and calves, onions, pecans, hay, chicken eggs and chile peppers, to name a few.
See More: New Mexico Agriculture
Who Owns New Mexico Farms?
The Census of Agriculture calculates farm ownership by the farm’s legal status for tax purposes. Like many states, New Mexico farms are primarily owned and operated by families or individuals, with 17,593 family farms as of 2022, or about 84% of all farms in the state. Corporations account for 1,129 farms, or 5.4%, while partnerships own 982 farms, or 4.7%. Other farms, such as estates or trusts, prison farms, grazing associations, American Indian Reservations, etc., make up about 6% of farms in New Mexico.
New Mexico farmers are predominantly men. According to the Census of Agriculture, there were 22,009 male farmers in New Mexico in 2022, making up 59% of the state’s total producers. New Mexico’s 15,014 women farmers accounted for 41% of the total.
See More: What’s in Season? New Mexico Produce Calendar
How Old Are New Mexico Farmers?
Out of 37,023 farmers in New Mexico, most are over the age of 55. In fact, the average age of a New Mexico farmer is 60.6 years old, up from 59.8 years in 2017.
More than a quarter of New Mexico farmers (around 28.6%) 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 17.3%, followed by farmers ranging from 45 to 54 years old (13.1%), then farmers ages 35 to 44 (9.8%). Only 5.6% of farmers are ages 25 to 34, and just 602 New Mexico farmers are under 25, or about 1.6%.
See More: New Mexico’s Top Agriculture Commodities
More New Mexico Farm Facts
Though the state counts more than 37,000 agricultural producers, 54% of New Mexico farmers have a primary occupation other than farming. Only about 17,000 respondents to the Census of Agriculture said their primary occupation was farming.
Active duty military members and veterans also account for some farmers, as New Mexico has 4,173 farmers with current or past military service.
According to the census, there are 93 Black farmers in New Mexico who farm 49,350 acres of land across 78 farms.
In 2022, New Mexico counted 9,826 new and beginning producers, including 4,165 women.
New Mexico is home to 80 USDA-certified organic farms, down from 127 in 2017.
New Mexico’s cattle and calf inventory totaled 1,330,860 in 2022.
The state had 12,606 colonies of honeybees in 2022 (up from 8,099 in 2017) and collected 342,073 pounds of honey that year.
See More: New Mexico Chefs, Restaurants and Organizations Highlight Local Food