Top Washington Agriculture Facts From the 2024 Census of Agriculture
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From apples and pears to beef and dairy, Washington agriculture produces a wide variety of commodities – more than 300 of them, to be exact. And agricultural production across the state contributes billions to the Washington economy each year. According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, there are 32,076 farms in Washington with a market value of agricultural products sold totaling more than $12.7 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 Washington has decreased by 10% since 2017 and by 11% since 2002. However, there are still more than 13.8 million acres of farm land in Washington, and the state’s average farm size is 432 acres.
The market value of crops grown in Washington, including nursery and greenhouse crops, totaled more than $9.1 billion in 2022. The market value of livestock, poultry and their products, including beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, came to nearly $3.6 billion.
What Are Washington’s Top Agricultural Products?
According to the most recent available cash receipts (the total amount of crops or livestock sold in a calendar year), Washington’s top agricultural products include apples, milk and other dairy products, cattle and calves, wheat, and potatoes, to name a few.
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Who Owns Washington Farms?
The Census of Agriculture calculates farm ownership by the farm’s legal status for tax purposes. Like many states, Washington farms are primarily owned and operated by families or individuals, with 25,120 family farms as of 2022, or about 78.3% of all farms in the state. Corporations account for 3,868 farms, or 12%, while partnerships own 2,468 farms, or 7.7%. Other farms, such as estates or trusts, prison farms, grazing associations, American Indian Reservations, etc., make up about 2% of farms in Washington.
Washington farmers are predominantly men. According to the Census of Agriculture, there were 34,976 male farmers in Washington in 2022, making up 58% of the state’s total producers. Washington’s 25,477 women farmers accounted for 42% of the total.
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How Old Are Washington Farmers?
Out of 60,453 farmers in Washington, most are over the age of 55. In fact, the average age of a Washington farmer is 59.3 years old, up from 58.1 years in 2017.
Just over a quarter of Washington farmers (26.9%) fall into the age group of 65 to 74 years, and 25% of farmers are ages 55 to 64. Farmers ranging from 45 to 54 years old account for 15.2%, followed by farmers age 75 or older (14.4%), then farmers ages 35 to 44 (12%). Only 5.2% of farmers are ages 25 to 34, and just 803 Washington farmers are under 25, or about 1.3%.
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More Washington Farm Facts
Though the state counts more than 60,000 agricultural producers, 56% of Washington farmers have a primary occupation other than farming. Only about 27,000 respondents to the Census of Agriculture said their primary occupation was farming.
Active duty military members and veterans also account for some farmers, as Washington has 6,471 farmers with current or past military service.
According to the census, there are 118 Black farmers in Washington who farm 25,066 acres of land across 97 farms.
Washington is home to 898 USDA-certified organic farms, up from 770 in 2017.
Washington farmers harvested a whopping 171,373 acres of apples on 2,114 farms in 2022. The state is home to 330,761 acres of land in fruit orchards.
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