Wisconsin Farming

Introduction

In February of 2024 the U.S. Department of Agriculture released their latest report on farming in the United States—the Census of Agriculture survey. 

The report relies on data collected from 2022 and presents some seemingly troubling facts. A closer look at the report, however, shows that the change in the farming industry is one of increased productivity and decreasing environmental footprint.

The United States

The total number of farms in the U.S. has been steadily decreasing since 1997, as have the number of cultivated acres. Since 1997 the number of farms has decreased, on average, by about 11,000 per year while the number of cultivated acres has decreased by approximately 3 million per year.

On average, the typical farm has increased in size; a sign that farmers are taking advantage of economies of scale and consolidating smaller farmlands into larger ones. In 1997, for example, the average farm was 431 acres. As of 2022, the average farm has increased in size by 7.4% to 463 acres.

The trend since 1997 has been that small farms, 1-9 acres in size, have decreased in number by about 30,000. Farms 10-49 acres in size have increased by about 36,000. Farms of a middling size—50-179 acres and 180-499 acres—have both decreased in number by 145,000 and 140,000, respectively. 

As for large farms, those between 1,000 and 1,999 acres have decreased in number by 24,000 while very large farms—2,000 acres or more—have increased in number by 8,800.

In total, since 1997 the number of acres dedicated to farming activities in the U.S. has decreased from 445 million to 382 million—a loss of 62.9 million acres (-14%). 62.9 million fewer acres being dedicated to farming is roughly the equivalent of adding another Wyoming to the United States. All else equal, this freeing-up of land puts downward pressure on real estate prices by increasing the supply of land. In 1997 roughly 19.6% of the total land area in the U.S. was dedicated to farming activities. Today, approximately 16.9% of the land area is dedicated to farming.

Virtually every state in the union has lost farms since 2017, with most farm losses being concentrated in the Central and Midwest United States. Of note are New Mexico, Arizona and Wyoming who lost 16.2%, 12.4% and 11.7% of their farms, respectively, since 2017. Wisconsin also saw large nominal and relative decreases in its number of farms when compared to other states (more on this in the next section). Yet, despite the decrease in acreage and farms the proportion of harvested to total cropland has increased.

In 1997 71% of cropland was harvested compared to 79% in 2022. The proportion of irrigated land also increased from 12.6% to 14.3% in the same period. These increases are attributable to the increased productivity of farming technology: better fertilizers, genetic modification, selective breeding and improvements in capital equipment. 

Compared to 2017 the market value of agricultural products sold has increased by 40% in nominal terms and 15.5-17% in inflation-adjusted terms. This despite the population of the U.S. having increased by less than 3% (2.57%).

Furthermore, since 1997 the value of agricultural products sold has increased by 170% in nominal terms and roughly 46% in real terms. During that period the U.S. population increased by almost 66 million people, or 24%. Since harvest yields and output have outpaced population increases, this too has a downward affect on food prices, all else equal.

Changes in livestock and poultry inventories from 2017 are up in some areas and down in others. Head of cattle are down 5.6 million, hogs and pigs are up 1.4 million, and layers (egg layers) are up 19 million.

Changes in crop harvests are variable as well, with most of the major U.S. crop volumes falling since 2017. Corn for grain is down 1 billion bushels, wheat for grain is down 91 million bushels, oats are up 10 million bushels, barley is up 1.4 million and soybeans are down 280 million bushels. Cotton bales are 5.4 million fewer than in 2017 while tobacco, unsurprisingly, is down 284 million pounds. Meanwhile rice, sugar beets and peanuts are all down from 2017.

While many of the major agricultural product inventories are lower than they were in 2017, “head counts” and “bushels” are both measures of volume, not mass. This explains the increase in the market value of agricultural products despite the decrease in volume–the number of units may be down but the density of the units is up. For example, head of cattle are 5.6 million fewer than in 2017, but in 2022 2.09 billion more pounds of beef were sold in the U.S compared to 2017. The same is true for many (if not most) of these staple crops—wheat, corn, soy—which, historically, have had their yields increase over time–especially wheat.

Wisconsin

Total farms in Wisconsin have decreased by 6,272 and now utilize 533,952 fewer acres. Following the national trend, the average farm in Wisconsin is 15 acres larger than it was in 2017 and 32 acres larger than it was in 1997. The estimated market value of farmland and their buildings in 2022 was $1.44 million, a 33% increase since 2017.

The distribution of farm sizes is also in line with national trends: middling farms are fewer in number and large-scale farms (>1,000 acres) are greater. 

However, the number of small-scale farms has changed very little since the last survey. In 2017 there were 5,923 small farms; in 2022, there were still 5,808. Consolidations, therefore, are occurring among mid- and large-scale farms and indicates that part-time, recreational family farming is both popular and resilient. 

In dairy, Wisconsin is still king. 22,777 farms (33.6% of farms) report raising cattle for beef, milk or both. Some 3.3 million cattle were in inventory in 2022 and 1.85 million were sold. Most cattle were raised for milk (1.26 million) compared to those raised for beef (284,000), and both were less than in 2017. The market value for cattle sold in 2022 was an impressive $1.76 billion and accounted for 10.6% of all agricultural product sales. The market value for milk, on the other hand, was a whopping $7.35 billion.

Also in line with national trends is an increase in the number of pigs and hogs sold or in inventory. Hog and pig inventories were up 37,000 from 2017, standing at a total of 336,000. Hog and pig sales were up by 120,000 and stood at a total of 924,000.

Wisconsin also continues to be a leading producer of corn for silage, producing more than 16 million tons in 2022, only 1.3 million fewer tons than in 2017. Unlike the rest of the nation, corn for grain increased from 2017 levels. Total 2022 production stands at 533 million bushels while wheat for grain increased to 18 million bushels from 13.2 million.

Meanwhile, oats for grain were down 17%, barley for grain was down 66%, dry edible beans, tobacco, rice and sunflower seed all continue to be very small agricultural products and are all down from their 2017 production levels. These changes in output most likely reflect producers' changing understanding of their competitive advantage rather than a national decrease in demand for these products. Wisconsin agriculture has simply decided to focus on dairy and corn production, leaving tobacco, rice and sunflower production to the southern states.

On the other hand, average market value of agricultural products sold is a solid $285,000, up from the $176,000 reported in 2017—a 33.5% inflation-adjusted increase.

In terms of government assistance, the average farm in Wisconsin received $9,584 from the Federal government, more than twice that of 2017. Total payments received from the Federal government amounted to $146 million dispersed among 15,350 farms. In 2017, total payments received amounted to just $126 million dispersed among 27,462 farms. 

Income from agriculture sales is also disproportionately left-skewed. The bulk of farms report sales receipts of less than $25,000. Some 87% of farms in Wisconsin fall into this category, meaning that farm-related activities are mostly part-time endeavors engaged in by hobbyists or other individuals whose principal source of income comes from other work.

Conclusion

Wisconsin farms largely follow national trends. The number of farms has decreased by 10% since 2017, as has the number of acres utilized for agricultural purposes. 

Wisconsin farms are also being consolidated into larger farms, but unlike the rest of the nation, these consolidations are occurring among mid- and large-scale farms. The number of small-scale farms in Wisconsin has remained essentially constant, indicating that part-time, recreational family farming is alive and well.

The dairy industry in the state remains strong and mostly oriented toward milk production. Corn silage production is steady and proportionate to the number of cattle in the state. Apart from these two areas, other agricultural activities in the state are relatively small. Barley, rice, sorghum, tobacco, cotton and tree nuts continue to be dwarfed by dairy and corn farming.

Per capita federal assistance is unusually high given the number of farms, farmers and the proportion of these who engage in agriculture only part-time. Nevertheless, the industry remains healthy despite the economic effects of the lockdowns imposed in 2019 and 2020.