When you sit down to eat dinner tonight, there’s a good chance you aren't thinking about the person who grew your potatoes. Honestly, most of us don't. We just want the groceries to be there when we hit the store. But lately, people have been asking a lot more questions about where our food comes from and, more specifically, who is actually left out there doing the work.
So, what is the percentage of farmers in the US today?
If you look at the raw data from the most recent USDA reports and the 2022 Census of Agriculture, the number is surprisingly small. Less than 2% of the US population is directly comprised of farm and ranch families. That’s a tiny group of people carrying a massive load for the other 98% of us.
The Real Numbers Behind the Percentages
It’s easy to get lost in the sea of government spreadsheets, but the big picture is pretty clear. There are roughly 3.4 million agricultural producers in the United States. These are the folks making the big calls—deciding when to plant, which cattle to sell, and how to keep the lights on.
They operate about 1.9 million farms.
Now, if you compare that to the total US population of roughly 340 million people, you realize just how rare a farmer actually is. We’re talking about a group that represents roughly 1.2% of the total labor force when you look at direct on-farm employment.
👉 See also: Bank of America Orland Park IL: What Most People Get Wrong About Local Banking
But wait. It gets more complicated.
Agriculture isn’t just the person on the tractor. If you count everyone from the person driving the grain truck to the folks at the processing plant and the cashier at the grocery store, the "ag and food sector" actually supports about 10.4% of all US jobs. That’s over 22 million people. But the actual farmers? They are the tip of the spear, and that spear is getting thinner.
Why the Percentage of Farmers in the US Is Shrinking
We’ve been losing farms for a long time. In 1935, there were nearly 7 million farms in this country. Today? We’re under 2 million.
Between 2017 and 2022 alone, we lost about 142,000 farms. That’s roughly a 7% drop in just five years. Why is this happening? Basically, it's a mix of "get big or get out" economics and a massive demographic shift.
- The Aging Crisis: The average age of a US farmer is now 58.1 years old. That’s not a typo. More than a third of producers are over 65.
- Consolidation: Big farms are getting bigger. A tiny fraction of farms—only about 6% of them—actually produce three-quarters of all the food and fiber in the country.
- Land Loss: We lost about 20 million acres of farmland between the last two census cycles. That land is going to subdivisions, strip malls, and warehouses.
It’s kinda wild when you think about it. We have fewer people feeding more people on less land than ever before in human history.
✨ Don't miss: Are There Tariffs on China: What Most People Get Wrong Right Now
Who Is the Modern American Farmer?
The image of the "old man in overalls" isn't the whole story anymore, though it's still a big part of it. The demographics are shifting, albeit slowly.
Women in Agriculture
One of the coolest things in the recent data is the rise of female producers. Around 36% of all US farmers are women. Even more interesting? About 58% of all farms have at least one woman making major decisions. They aren't just "helping out" on the farm; they are running the show.
The Next Generation
There’s also this group called "beginning farmers"—people who have been at it for 10 years or less. They make up about 30% of all producers. Their average age is 47, which is much younger than the national average, but still not exactly "young." Only about 9% of farmers are actually under the age of 35.
The Racial Gap
This is where the numbers get a bit tough to look at. Farming in the US remains overwhelmingly white—about 95%. While there are efforts to support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers, the numbers show they’ve been losing farms at a higher rate than white farmers. For example, the number of Black-operated farms dropped by 13% recently, nearly double the national average of farm loss.
Small Farms vs. Big Business
When people talk about what is the percentage of farmers in the US, they often assume they’re talking about massive corporate entities.
🔗 Read more: Adani Ports SEZ Share Price: Why the Market is kida Obsessed Right Now
Actually, 95% of US farms are family-owned.
The "corporate farm" bogeyman exists, but most of the "big" farms you see are just families who have been forced to scale up to survive. A "small" farm (defined as having less than $350,000 in annual sales) makes up about 85% of all farms. However, those small farms only account for 14% of the total value of what’s sold.
Basically, we have a lot of small, family-run operations that are barely breaking even, and a few very large operations that are doing the heavy lifting for the global food supply.
What Should We Do With This Information?
Knowing the stats is one thing, but it doesn't mean much if we don't change how we interact with the system. The fact that only 2% of the population is feeding everyone else is a massive vulnerability.
If you want to support the people behind these percentages, here are a few real-world steps you can take:
- Shop the "Small" Percentages: Look for the "locally grown" labels or hit up a farmers market. Since 85% of farms are small but struggling, your direct dollars mean way more to them than to a massive grain conglomerate.
- Support Beginning Farmer Programs: Organizations like the National Young Farmers Coalition work on policy to help new people get access to land. Land access is the #1 reason young people can't start farming.
- Watch the Farm Bill: This massive piece of legislation dictates where government money goes. Currently, a huge chunk of federal payments goes to the largest farms. Advocating for more balance can help the smaller family operations stay in business.
- Value the Land: Support local land trusts. Once a farm is paved over for a parking lot, it’s never growing corn or grazing cattle again.
The shrinking percentage of farmers in the US isn't just a stat for a textbook. It's a reflection of how we value—or undervalue—the most basic necessity of life. We're asking fewer and fewer people to take on more and more risk. Next time you're at the grocery store, just remember that the person who made that meal possible is part of a very small, very tired, and very important 2%.