WPC on Lost Farms Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. The recently released Census of Agriculture has exposed some pretty shocking data when it comes to the number of American farms.
Pam Lewison, Ag Director at the Washington Policy Center, says the Census compares numbers from 2017 to those from 2022, and it’s not good ...
LEWISON … “For us in Washington state, we lost 3,717 farms. We lost almost 4,000 farms in five years.”
And, Lewison says when you compare that number to the total number farms and ranches …
LEWISON … “So, what that looks like now, is that we are sitting at about 32,000 farms, in that area. So, you know, it was a significant loss of food producers in our state.”
That, Lewison says is a significant amount …
LEWISON … “If you want to whittle that down a little bit further, for something that is a little bit more representative to kind of wrap your arms around, it actually works out to be 14 or so farms and ranches a week, over five years that decided to close up shop.”
So, were the farms bought up by bigger operators or just shut down? …
LEWISON … “Certainly some of those farms consolidated, but we also lost 100,000 acres, give or take, of farmland in production.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on the loss of farms and farmland in Washington state.
