The recent USDA report found that while the number of farms in Wisconsin has been declining since 2019, 2021 is the first year, over the last five, that Wisconsin has lost farmland.
Published on February 18, the USDA looked at the number of farms in Wisconsin, the average farm size, and the total farmland over the last five years. For the first time since 2017, the total farmland within the state dropped a whopping 100,000 acres. Roughly a .7% decline which is concerning.
Unlike losing a farm, farmland means a loss of crop yield. Some farmers are choosing to no longer farm anymore, which may be adding to the overall decline. They sell their farm but not the land, selling it to another farmer to use to leasing it. The farm is gone but the farmland is not.
In addition to total farmland declining across the state, the number of farms has been steadily declining since 2019. In 2019, there were roughly 65,000 farms in Wisconsin, that number dropped to 64,400 in 2020 and dropped further to 64,100 in 2021.
One factor is that there are older farmers still in the business but there isn’t a large number of younger people getting into the farming business. Other factors include the demand for products and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
So how can you help Wisconsin farmers? Buy local. Buying local cuts prices down for farmers to distributors and cuts prices down at the grocery store. If the number of acres of farmland continues to decline, there may come a point where there’s not enough land to produce food.
Joseph says
I am concerned about the loss of farmland because growing houses instead of crops does hurt the environment due to lack of green plants which help to purify the air/water. Also, I have noticed that farmers are normally very nice people. I had problems with my bike some time ago and a farmer did come and help to fix it. I understand that there are long hours, and it is very physical work. Will any young people ever be interested in working on a farm?
A farmer told me “I get more $ for my land than my crops”. That is very sad thing. (Jefferson county still has farms but for how long)?