The number of farms in Hamilton County is down and the average size is up.
It’s a pattern that’s been noticeable across most of Nebraska for years, but it’s an unsettling trend nonetheless.
As current farmers age and their sons and daughters seek careers in other fields, there’s nobody left to continue the family tradition of raising agricultural products -- grain and/or livestock -- and the land is sold.
With the average age of the principal farm operator in the county at 53.6 years, it’s safe to assume farm numbers will continue to decline at a steady rate locally as those operators move into retirement years.
Hamilton County experienced a 9 percent decrease in farm numbers the past five years, according to statistics released in the latest USDA Census of Agriculture.
There were 603 farms in the county in 2002 and 550 in 2007.
That decline, however, isn’t a nationwide trend. The 2007 census counted 2,204,792 farms in the United States, a net increase of 75,810 farms. Compared to all farms nationwide, the new farms tend to have more diversified production, fewer acres, lower sales and younger operators who also work off the farm.
The amount of land in farms also declined, the report noted. There were 348,178 acres devoted to farming in 2002 and 319,115 in 2007.
That in part accounts for the fact that the average size of farms in the county grew by just three acres, despite the fact the land mass was divided by fewer farms.
Hamilton County bucked the national trend when it comes to average farm size.
Source: cbc.com
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