USDA 2007 Ag Census Released
US - USDA has released the numbers for the 2007 Agriculture Census, which reveals that on farms in the US, there were 96.3 million cattle and calves, up from 95.5 million in 2002. The herd size for hogs and pigs was 67.8 million, up from 60.5 million, while the inventory of lamb and sheep decreased from 6.3 million to 5.8 million. There are more than 295 million turkeys, up from 283 million.
10 February 2009
2 minute read
The census, taken every five years, noted that cattle and calf sales increased to more than $61.2 billion, up from $45.1 billion in 2002, reports the American Meat Institute. Hog and pig sales increased from $12.4 billion to $18.1 billion.
The number of farms across the U.S. also increased by four percent and farms have become more diverse in nature. The 2007 Census counted 2,204,792 farms in the United States, a net increase of 75,810 farms. Fifty percent of the total value of agricultural products comes from nine states: California, Texas, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina and Wisconsin, respectively. Fresno County in California is the largest single county in terms of agricultural products sold in 2007, with $3.7 billion, or 1.2 percent of the total U.S. value.
The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. The Census examines land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures, and many other areas. The first agriculture Census was taken in 1840 as part of the Sixth Decennial Census of Population.
Further Reading
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