The Latest Numbers on Alabama Agriculture

1. The Latest Numbers on Alabama Agriculture 3rdButler/CunninghamConference November 8, 2004

2. Farm Numbers

3. Alabama Land in Farms • Farm land accounted for 64 % of the state’s total 32.5 million acre land area in 1950 • In 1997, farm land accounted for 27% Source: Census of Agriculture

4. Trend Continues at Increasing Rate • From 1997 to 2002, farm numbers declined 10% • Most were <$10K Sales • 80% were <180 acres • Land in Farms declined 6% Source: 2002 Census of Ag

5. Harvested Cropland • In 1997, cropland accounted for 6 % of total farm land • Cropland accounted for 18 % of total land area in 1950 Source: Census of Agriculture

6. Harvested Cropland 8% Decrease in 5 years Source: 2002 Census of Ag

7. Farm Counts by Size

8. Acres per Farm - 2002 • 75% of farms are 180 acres or less • 500 acre plus farms make up 8% of total • 2,000 acre plus farms total 523, or 1%

9. Farm Counts by Value of Sales

10. Percent of Farms and Value of Sales Source: 2002 Census of Ag

11. 10 % of Alabama farms produce 90 % of the market value of products sold • 1.4 % of farms sell $1,000,000 or more of ag products and account for nearly 40 % of all sales • Nearly three-fourths of all farms sell less than $10,000 of ag products (less than 3% of all sales)

12. Farm Structure

13. Net Returns per Farm

14. Net Gains & Losses • More farms with losses than gains in 2002 • Farms w/gains averaged $21,000 on the plus side • Farms w/losses averaged $10,000 loss • Overall, farms averaged $7,100 gain

15. Net Returns by Sales Group • Farms with $10,000 or more in sales had a positive net return • Farms with less than $10,000 in sales had a negative return

16. Sales Category # of Farms Gain/Loss • $ 1,000,000 + 667 $229,556 Gain • 500,000 – 999,999 1,403 73,999 Gain • 250,000 – 499,999 1,355 52,195 Gain • 100,000 – 249,000 1,299 27,993 Gain • 50,000 - 99,999 1,142 12,131 Gain • 25,000 - 49,999 1,825 6,061 Gain • 10,000 - 24,999 5,527 2,235 Gain • 5,000 - 9,999 6,274 1,450 Loss • 2,500 - 4,999 6,349 2,302 Loss • 1,000 - 2,499 6,368 2,728 Loss • Less than 1,000 13,185 2,812 Loss

17. Net Returns by Farm Type or Enterprise

18. Farm Enterprise

19. Net Returns per Farm

20. Most nursery operations (71%) have less than $50,000 net return….very large nurseries have major influence on average • Likewise, about half of dairies net less than $50,000 per farm – not many left

22. What do our largest farms look like?

23. $1,000,000 Plus Gross Sales • 648 Farms (1% of all farms) • 77% are poultry operations • 7% are nursery/greenhouse operations • 6% are row crop farms

24. FarmDemographics

25. Average Age of Principal Operator Census Year

26. Age Groups - 2002

27. Tenure Operators 72% 18% 3% 7% Years on Farm

28. Percent of Operator’s Total Income from Farming # of Operators 74% 6% % of Total Income

29. Days Worked off the Farm # of operators • 55% of primary operators worked off the farm • Of those working off the farm, 75% worked 200 days or more, essentially full time job

30. The larger the farm size, the fewer days worked off the farm • However, a 260 acre farm still has as many primary operators working off the farm as not • And, even the 2,000 acre plus farms have 31% of operators working off the farm, with 59% of those working 200 days or more

31. Finally, the numbers tell a lot about Alabama farms……But,They don’t tell an equally important story - conservation practices of farms and their contribution toward a safe and clean rural environment

32. www.usda.gov/nass • Click on Census of Agriculture • National, State, and County Data • Data Queries

33. Linda’s Next withthe U.S.Picture!