Nebraska Farm Numbers Lower

Nebraska's number of farms and ranches declined during 2021, according to USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The number of farms and ranches in the state, at 44,800, was down 700 farms from 2020. Numbers of farms and ranches in Nebraska with less than $100,000 in agricultural sales decreased 400 farms from a year earlier while operations with agricultural sales of $100,000 or more decreased 300 farms.

Land in farms and ranches in Nebraska totaled 44.8 million acres, down 100,000 acres from 2020. The average size of operation, at 1,000 acres, was up 13 acres from a year earlier.

The number of farms in the United States for 2021 is estimated at 2,012,050, down 6,950 farms from 2020. The number of farms increased in all sales classes except $1,000-$9,999, $100,000-$249,999, and $1,000,000 or more. In 2021, 51.0 percent of all farms had less than $10,000 in sales and 81.5 percent of all farms had less than $100,000 in sales. In 2021, 7.4 percent of all farms had sales of $500,000 or more.

Total land in farms, at 895,300,000 acres, decreased 1,300,000 acres from 2020. The biggest change for 2021 is that producers in Sales Class $1,000 - $9,999 operated 640,000 fewer acres than in 2020. In 2021, 30.1 percent of all farmland was operated by farms with less than $100,000 in sales, while 40.9 percent of all farmland was operated by farms with sales of $500,000 or more.

The average farm size for 2021 is 445 acres, up from 444 acres the previous year. Average farm size increased in the $1,000,000 or more sales class and decreased or remained unchanged in all other sales classes.