Top New York Agriculture Facts From the 2024 Census of Agriculture
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Agriculture is an important industry in New York. Farmers across the state produce everything from beef and dairy products to apples, grapes, eggs and more, generating billions of dollars in economic impact annually. According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, there are 30,650 farms in New York with a market value of agricultural products sold totaling more than $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 New York has decreased by 8% since 2017 and by 18% since 2002. However, there are still more than 6.5 million acres of farm land in New York, and the state’s average farm size is 212 acres.
The market value of crops grown in New York, including nursery and greenhouse crops, totaled more than $3.1 billion in 2022. The market value of livestock, poultry and their products, including beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, came to nearly $4.9 billion.
What Are New York’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 York’s top agricultural products include milk and other dairy products, corn, cattle and calves, apples, and chicken eggs, to name a few.
See More: New York Agriculture
Who Owns New York Farms?
The Census of Agriculture calculates farm ownership by the farm’s legal status for tax purposes. Like many states, New York farms are primarily owned and operated by families or individuals, with 24,521 family farms as of 2022, or about 80% of all farms in the state. Corporations account for 2,941 farms, or 9.6%, while partnerships own 2,831 farms, or 9.2%. Other farms, such as estates or trusts, prison farms, grazing associations, American Indian Reservations, etc., make up about 1.2% of farms in New York.
New York farmers are predominantly men. According to the Census of Agriculture, there were 35,664 male farmers in New York in 2022, making up 62% of the state’s total producers. New York’s 21,894 women farmers accounted for 38% of the total.
See More: What’s In Season? New York Produce Calendar
How Old Are New York Farmers?
Out of 57,558 farmers in New York, most are over the age of 55. In fact, the average age of a New York farmer is 56.7 years old, up from 55.8 years in 2017.
Just over a quarter of New York farmers (around 25.2%) fall into the age group of 55 to 64 years, and 23% of farmers are ages 65 to 74. Farmers ranging from 45 to 54 years old account for 15.2%, followed by farmers ages 35 to 44 (13.3%), then farmers aged 75 or older (12.4%,. Only 8.6% of farmers are ages 25 to 34, and just 1,319 New York farmers are under 25, or about 2.3%.
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More New York Farm Facts
Though the state counts more than 57,000 agricultural producers, 51% of New York farmers have a primary occupation other than farming. Only about 28,000 respondents to the Census of Agriculture said their primary occupation was farming.
Active duty military members and veterans also account for some farmers. New York has 4,275 farmers with current or past military service.
According to the census, there are 157 Black farmers in New York who farm 4,670 acres of land across 107 farms.
The state is home to 673 producers of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin.
New York counts 16,234 new and beginning producers, up from 15,602 in 2017.
New York is home to 1,034 USDA-certified organic farms.
Apples are a top crop for the Empire State. New York farmers harvested 56,086 acres of apples from 1,420 farms in 2022.