Beginning Farmers and Ranchers 2012 Census Data

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The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has posted a new Agriculture Census Drilldown: Beginning Farmers and Ranchers – The new Census data continues to show the aging of the American farm population, with the average age of the American farmer increasing from 57.1 in 2007 to 58.3 in 2012.  What’s more concerning however, is the slow rate at which new farmers are entering agriculture, and the much faster rate at which older farmers are retiring from farming.

Also See the Previous Post on Beginning Farmer Numbers in the Ag Census for more information

Below – Number of “principal operators” by Age of Operator (2007 and 2012)