The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released the 2017 USDA Ag Census. This census occurs every 5 years and is the most recent report available which is pre-dated by the 2012 and 2007 surveys. The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Even small plots of land – whether rural or urban – growing fruit, vegetables or some food animals count if $1,000 or more of such products were raised and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the Census year. The Census of Agriculture, taken only once every five years, looks at land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures. For America’s farmers and ranchers, the Census of Agriculture is their voice, their future, and their opportunity.
The 2017 USDA Ag Census places US sod production in 2017 as 1,465 farms producing 339,551 acres of sod valued at $1.148 billion dollars. Census data are also available by U.S. state and can be easily searched using the USDA’s online search tools. For more information and to access the entire census please click on the link below: