Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
Census Data Show Growth in Ohio Agriculture
REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio -- Ohio’s agriculture industry is seeing continued growth, based on preliminary results of the 2012 Census of Agriculture released by the U.S Department of Agriculture. In several cases, Ohio’s growth significantly outpaced the nation.
“The preliminary data shows what we have known for years: Ohio’s $105 billion food and agriculture industry is built upon a strong and thriving agricultural production base,” said David T. Daniels, Ohio agriculture director .
Among the most notable results in the preliminary data is the increase in the market value of crops and livestock sold since the census was last completed in 2007. While market value numbers increased 32.78% nationally, the value of Ohio crops and livestock increased 42.28%. This is primarily due to a sharp increase in crop values, which increased in Ohio by 60.54% but only 47.85% nationally. Ohio is ranked 13th nationally with a total value of crop and livestock sales just over $10 billion in 2012.
While the number of farms has decreased both in Ohio and in the nation, Ohio has lost only 0.5% of its farms when the number of farms nationally has decreased by 4.3%. Ohio now ranks 7th for the number of farms in the nation with 75,462. Despite the nation losing about 7.5 million acres of farmland since the 2007 census, the numbers of acres in agricultural production in Ohio have remained steady and actually increased slightly. The state now has 13.96 million acres of farmland.
“One of the most important takeaways to remember about the Census of Agriculture is that the information is used for decision-making by producers as well as all those who serve farmers and rural communities – federal, state and local governments, agribusinesses, trade associations and many others,” said Cheryl Turner, USDA statistician.
The Census of Agriculture is a complete count, taken every five years by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, of America’s farms and ranches and the people who operate them. More information on the Census of Agriculture including a copy of the preliminary results can be viewed at www.agcensus.usda.gov. A final version of the report is scheduled to be released in May.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
CLICK HERE to subscribe to our twice-monthly print edition and to our free daily email.