According to the 2007 USDA Ag Census issued by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the number of farms in the United States has increased by 4% and become more diverse over the past half decade. According to a summary of the Ag Census published by National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service:The number of farms in the United States has grown 4 percent and the operators of those farms have become more diverse in the past five years, according to results of the 2007 Census of Agriculture released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The 2007 Census counted 2,204,792 farms in the United States, a net increase of 75,810 farms. Nearly 300,000 new farms have begun operation since the last census in 2002. Compared to all farms nationwide, these new farms tend to have more diversified production, fewer acres, lower sales and younger operators who also work off-farm. In the past five years, U.S. farm operators have become more demographically diverse. The 2007 Census counted nearly 30 percent more women as principal farm operators. The count of Hispanic operators grew by 10 percent, and the counts of American Indian, Asian and Black farm operators increased as well.
An official USDA Press Release discussing this aspect of the 2007 USDA Ag Census is available here.
