2022 Census of Agriculture: Black-operated farm size continues to grow

The average size of Black- or African-American-operated farms reached a record high of 163 acres in 2022. USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Census of Agriculture data report Black or African-American producers operated 32,700 farms and ranches covering about 5.3 million acres in 2022. A farm is defined as Black- or African-American-operated if at least one producer identifies as Black or African American alone or in combination with other races. The number of Black- or African-American-operated farms rapidly decreased from 1920 through 1978, after which the number of farms varied with a downward trend. Since 1997, there has been a gradual increase in the number of acres operated by Black farmers, although it remains below the 41.4 million acres operated in 1920. Black- or African-American-operated farms are most concentrated in the South (46.5 percent are in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina) compared with all other U.S. regions in 2022. Black or African-American farmers are more likely to produce livestock than White farmers, as the latter are more likely to be in crop production. For more details from the 2022 Census of Agriculture, see the NASS Census of Agriculture website. For more information on Black or African-American farmers, see USDA, Economic Research Service’s Socially Disadvantaged, Beginning, Limited Resource, and Female Farmers and Ranchers topic page.

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