October 9th, 2024
By Teresa O'Connor
A special two-part series about the 2022 Census of Agriculture:
- Part 1: What the 2022 Census of Agriculture Confirms about California
- Part 2: Investing in California Farmers to Protect Our Food System
What the 2022 Census of Agriculture Confirms about California
California’s farmers face severe business challenges, some of the nation’s most expensive agricultural land and increasingly devastating climatic risks such as floods, droughts, and wildfires. Ensuring these farms’ financial viability and climate resilience is vitally important for keeping them in agriculture and protecting the nation’s food supply.
However, the recently released 2022 Census of Agriculture confirms troubling agricultural trends in the nation’s number-one food producing state.
To understand the impacts, AFT compared the new Census data with past Census data. All indicators show data too dangerous to ignore, according to Tom Stein, American Farmland Trust’s California Regional Director.
“In California, we’re losing farms and ranches at an alarming rate, in the face of challenging business viability and climate affects with development and water scarcity on track to consume more.
Nationally, nearly 300 million acres of agricultural land could change hands in the next 20 years. That’s about one third of the contiguous U.S. We’re not adequately supporting land access and farm transfer into new hands. This has serious implications for the nation’s food system and the state’s economy.”
California Feeds the Nation
It’s not an overstatement to say that California agriculture is vital for our food security. With more than $59 billion in agricultural sales in 2022, California remains the top producer of agricultural products in the United States and the world’s fifth largest producer.
The total value of California’s agricultural products was $59,005,675,000. Fruits, tree nuts, and berries made up over $23 billion of the state’s agricultural sales; followed by vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes (more than $11 billion in sales); and milk from cows (over $9 billion in sales in 2022). See the NASS Ranking of Market Value of Ag Products Sold for more information.
Losing Farmland Fast
Despite its significant contributions to our food system, California agriculture continues to lose land. According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, the state has experienced a decline of 332,197 acres of agricultural land since the 2017 Census. As of 2022, California has less than 24.2 million acres of land dedicated to agriculture
The decline in land in farms doesn’t necessarily mean the land was lost to development. But according to AFT’s Farms Under Threat (FUT), the State of the States, California converted 466,000 acres of agricultural land to urban, highly developed, and low-density residential uses between 2001-2016. AFT’s Farms Under Threat: Choosing an Abundant Future reveals California is projected to lose 797,358 acres by 2040 under current conditions.
The California Department of Conservation estimates just under 50,000 acres of the state’s agricultural land is being lost annually.
Alarmingly, AFT’s FUT 2040 revealed three of California’s and the nation’s top agricultural producing counties—Fresno, Tulare, and Kern – are among the state’s most at-risk agricultural land of development by 2040, if current trends continue. Over 100,000 acres of agricultural land are projected to be lost in the greater San Joaquin Valley.
Beyond development concerns, California’s best quality agricultural land is threatened by water scarcity. Public Policy Institute of California research shows in San Joaquin Valley, 500,000 to 900,000 acres of agricultural land may be taken out of production due to water scarcity.
Since 1980, AFT helped develop and advocate for state and federal land protection programs, which protect agricultural land. These include the federal NRCS Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, as well as California’s California Farmland Conservancy Program operated by the Department of Conservation, and the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program operated by the Strategic Growth Council.
Fewer Farms, and They’re Bigger
The number of California farms fell 10.5% between 2017 and 2022, a decrease of 7,387 farms. And the pace quickened over the last two decades. The state witnessed a 23% drop in farms and decreased 7.95 million acres of agricultural land since 1982.
Declines in farm numbers were concentrated among the smallest operations, grouped by sales and acreage. Farms with less than 180 acres fell nearly 13% since the 2017 Census, while the number of farms with less than $25,000 in sales dropped almost 17%. Meanwhile California’s largest farms—those over 1000 acres or with more than $500,000 in sales—increased.
The decline in small farms is particularly troublesome. Small-acre farms are entry-points for young and beginning farmers: 85% of farms with California’s beginning farmers have less than 180 acres and 69% of these farms have less than 50 acres. Among young farmers, 74% of operations have less than 180 acres, and 55% of operations have less than 50 acres.
Small farms shouldn’t be overlooked. Like other small businesses, they play important, outsized, and often under-recognized roles in our lives. These farms are managed by and invested in local communities, often selling directly to local consumers. This helps food grown in a community to stay there instead of being shipped across the country, which supports local food economies and health outcomes, and conserves natural resources.
In California, AFT works to promote farm viability through research, policy, and field programs. There is a proven need for more access to land, capital, and technical and business resources, especially for smaller operations who are more threatened. This is especially important, because California farmers aren’t getting any younger.
California is encountering a historic population growth that needs housing and water. But the state can’t afford to lose the agricultural bounty that feeds us all. We encourage planners to focus on smart growth that enables the state to Save Farmland and Grow Cities.
AFT’s Farms Under Threat 2040 warns, if trends continue, 797,400 acres of California’s agricultural land and ranchland will be paved over, fragmented, or converted to uses that jeopardize agriculture. This is the equivalent of losing 6,000 farms, $1 billion in farm output, and 13,000 jobs by 2040.
A Better Built Cities model is the most effective way, with the least negative impact, to protect these invaluable resources. Land use planners should promote compact development and reduce sprawl, which saves irreplaceable farmland and ranchland from conversion. If this development model is used statewide, Californians will save 413,000 acres of agricultural land and ranchland, the equivalent of 2,800 farms. And that benefits us all.
Read more in part 2 of this series.