The amount of farmland in the United States is limited. The 2007 Census of Agriculture reported that there is approximately 922 million acres of farmland in the U.S. This represents 40.8 percent of the total land area in the country. Of the country’s farmland, cropland represents 44.1 percent, with approximately 406.5 million acres. There are about 309.6 million acres of harvested cropland in the nation.
Texas is the state with the most farmland, totaling 130,500 acres. Kansas uses the largest portion of its land for farming, an impressive 90.1 percent. Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, and Wyoming are other top states for farmland cultivation. The increase in the number of farms between 2002 and 2007 occurred in the eastern-central U.S., particularly within Tennessee, Northern Georgia, and Western North Carolina.
As of 2008, there were approximately 2.2 million farms in the U.S. with a total net farm income of $87.3 million. The final crop output of these farms totaled $182.7 million, representing big business to the national economy. In 2007, the top five counties in terms of agricultural sales were all located in California. The average farm size is 418 acres, with 54.4 percent of farms occupying between one and 99 acres, and 31 percent spanning 100 to 499 acres.
The top five agricultural commodities produced by U.S. farms in 2009 were: cattle and calves, corn, soybeans, dairy products, and broiler chickens. Soybeans and products, feed grains and products, live animals and meat, and wheat and products were in the top five U.S. agricultural exports in 2009. Soybean exports far outnumber the others on the list.
Organic agriculture experienced a substantial increase between the years 2006 and 2008. The total acres of farmland used for organic agriculture increased from 2.9 to 4.8 million acres. The number of acres used for organic crops rose from 1.9 million to 2.7 million, supporting nearly 13,000 certified organic operations.
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