FAQs

The top 10 agriculture-producing States in terms of cash receipts in calendar year 2023 are (in descending order): California, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas, Indiana, North Carolina, and Missouri. See these and related statistics in the USDA, Economic Research Service’s Farm Income and Wealth Statistics.

The 10 largest sources of cash receipts from the sale of U.S.-produced farm commodities in calendar year 2023 are (in descending order): cattle/calves, corn, soybeans, dairy products/milk, broilers, miscellaneous crops, hogs, chicken eggs, wheat, and hay. See these and related statistics in the USDA, Economic Research Service’s Farm Income and Wealth Statistics.

Almost all farms in the United States (97 percent) are family farms and they account for the majority (90 percent) of the value of farm production. Family farms with an annual gross cash farm income (GCFI) of at least a million dollars account for 52 percent of the value of farm production; small and midsize family farms account for 38 percent of the total value of farm production. See these and related statistics in the USDA, Economic Research Service report:

Since the mid-1990s, the median income of U.S. farm households has surpassed that of nonfarm households. Farm household income is derived from a number of sources. The financial well-being of the majority of farm households today depends more on off-farm employment than from farm income. However, households operating commercial farms (those with more than $350,000 in gross cash farm income) typically derive most of their income from the farm operation, although many of those households also have substantial off-farm income. These and related statistics can be found in the Farm Household Well-being topic pages. 

While total per capita food consumption has increased in the U.S. since 1970, Americans are consuming less beef per capita than in the 1970s or 1980s. The ERS loss-adjusted food availability (LAFA) data series in the ERS Food Consumption (Per Capita) Data System provides data on over 200 foods in the American diet. LAFA is derived from ERS’s food availability data series by adjusting for food spoilage, plate waste, and other losses to more closely approximate actual intake.

ERS forecasts retail food price inflation on a 12 to 18-month forecast horizon, with the new year of forecasts published each July. These forecasts are based on current conditions as well as an assumption of normal weather conditions throughout the remainder of the year; however, severe weather or other unforeseen events could potentially drive food prices above or below the current forecasts. For this reason, our forecasts are updated on a monthly basis. For the most current forecasts and analysis see the Food Price Outlook.

In 2023, 86.5 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the year—meaning that the households had access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. An estimated 13.5 percent of U.S. households were food insecure in 2023, meaning that the households had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members because of a lack of resources. In 2023, 5.1 percent of U.S. households had very low food security. In this more severe range of food insecurity, the food intake of some household members was reduced and normal eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because of limited resources. See Key Statistics & Graphics under the topic Food Security in the United States.

ERS’s Food Access Research Atlas estimates and maps census tracts that are low income and have low access to a supermarket. In this atlas, low access is defined as having a significant number or share of people who live more than 1 mile from a supermarket in urban areas and more than 10 miles in rural areas. An estimated 18.8 million people in these low-income and low-access census tracts lived far from a supermarket in 2019. The Food Access Research Atlas provides measures of neighborhood access to healthy, affordable food for the entire Nation using ½-mile and 1-mile demarcations to the nearest supermarket for urban areas, 10-mile and 20-mile demarcations to the nearest supermarket for rural areas, and vehicle availability for all tracts. Users can map low-income and low-supermarket access census tracts for 2019 and now compare the results with those for 2015.

In calendar year 2022, U.S. agricultural exports equaled about $196.0 billion, while corresponding imports totaled about $198.0 billion. ERS publishes monthly trade updates that provide up-to-date information on agricultural trade. 

Trade is essential to the U.S. agricultural sector, with agricultural exports accounting for more than 20 percent of the value of U.S. agricultural production. In recent years, the leading agricultural export products in terms of value have consistently been bulk commodities including soybeans, corn, and wheat. Top U.S. exports of high-value products include feeds and fodder, beef and veal (fresh or frozen), and pork. State export calculations produced by ERS estimate the volume of agricultural production within each State that contributes to U.S. export sales. 

Population change in nonmetro areas reversed in 2020–21, going from a 0.08-percent decline in July 2019 to July 2020 to a 0.14-percent increase in the following 12 months. Nonmetro population increased 0.12 percent in 2021–22 compared with a 0.42-increase in metro areas, according to the latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Renewed nonmetro growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic contrasts with the previous decade that saw the first-ever loss in nonmetro population (from 2010–17) when annual population change averaged -0.08 percent per year. A turnaround in migration flows between metro and nonmetro counties occurred during the first year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many people choosing to reside in places with lower population density as COVID-19 infection rates accelerated. ERS provides details, data, and analysis on demographic trends in nonmetro areas, including how "nonmetro" is defined.

For calendar year 2023, the farm share was 15.9 cents per dollar spent on domestically produced food (i.e., the food dollar). The marketing share was 84.1 cents, accounting for the remainder of the food dollar. Domestic farm establishments received 15.9 cents per food dollar (on average) from the sale of farm commodities, down from 16.0 cents in 2022. The farm share covers the costs of purchased inputs from nonfarm establishments used in farm production plus the value added on farms, or onfarm production costs, which is attributed to the farm use of land, labor, machinery, and equipment. Onfarm production costs per food dollar were 9.1 cents in 2023, decreasing from 2022. For more information, see the Food Dollar Series and Food Dollar's Three Series Show Distributions of U.S. Food Production Costs.

U.S. agricultural-environmental policy addresses a range of environmental concerns including soil quality, water quality, wildlife habitat, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change adaptation. The United States relies heavily on financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers who agree to adopt practices designed to improve their environmental performance. Financial and technical assistance support a number of conservation activities including land retirement, conservation practices on land in production (e.g., conservation tillage, nutrient management, or rotational grazing), protection of wetlands and grasslands, and preservation of productive farmland at risk of residential or commercial development. Key programs include the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). Conservation Compliance also ties conservation effort to participation in other agricultural programs. Under Conservation Compliance, farmers must apply an approved soil conservation system on highly erodible cropland and refrain from draining wetlands to maintain eligibility for a wide range of agriculture-related benefits, including farm income support and crop insurance premium subsidies. Find more on these issues through visiting the Natural Resources & Environment topic pages.

Agriculture, food, and related industries contributed roughly $1.530 trillion to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, a 5.6-percent share. The output of America’s farms contributed $203.5 billion of this sum—about 0.7 percent of U.S. GDP. The overall contribution of agriculture to GDP is larger than 0.7 percent because sectors related to agriculture rely on agricultural inputs to contribute added value to the economy. Sectors related to agriculture include food and beverage manufacturing; food and beverage stores; food services and eating/drinking places; textiles, apparel, and leather products; and forestry and fishing.

USDA does not have an official estimate of the number of jobs associated with specific industries or sectors. Published U.S. Government data are available for direct farm employment and for employment in selected industries or sectors related to agriculture. In its regional economic accounts, the Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes data on the number of full- and part-time jobs for agricultural and related industry sectors. In 2022, 22.1 million full- and part-time jobs were related to the agricultural and food sectors—10.4 percent of total U.S. employment. Direct on-farm employment accounted for about 2.6 million of these jobs, or 1.2 percent of U.S. employment. See the section on Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy in the ERS data product, Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials for more information.