Katherine Zehnder
Carolina Journal
Since 2018, North Carolina has lost 100,000 acres of farmland and almost 1,500 farms.
Nationally, North Carolina is ranks second for the loss of farmland, only taking a back seat to Texas, according to the American Farmland Trust.
So, with many farms giving ways to housing and
Earlier this year, during his “State of Agriculture” address, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said that by 2040, we are projected to lose between 1.1 million acres of farmland on the low side and 1.6 to 1.9 million on the high side.
In total, North Carolina has about 8.3 million acres of farmland, according to the most recent data, which is down from 8.4 million acres in 2018.
According to recent Census of Agriculture data from the USDA, there are approximately 1.9 million farms and ranches across the county, down 7% from 2017. There is also evidence of consolidation, with an average size of a farm increasing by 5% to 463 acres.
These farmers and reachers manage 880 million acres around the country, accounting for 39% of all US land. Family-owned and operated farms and ranches made up 95% of those in 2022, up almost 10% from 2017 when it was at 84%.
Meanwhile the revenues are increasing with the size of the farms. In 2022 US farms and ranches produced $543 billion in agricultural products, up from just $389 billion in 2017.
The farmers are more green, too. Farmers with 10 years or less experience have increased by 11% since 2017 to one million. Similarly, producers under 35 account for 9% of all producers. The 221,233 farms with young producers (under 35) in decision-making are likely to be larger than average in acreage and sales, according to data from the NCDA&CS.
“We noted that the number of younger farmers increased since the 2017 Census from 20,298 in 2017 to 22,940 in 2022 – something we saw as a positive trend,” the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) told the Carolina Journal.
However, some farmers are not seeing an influx of young farmers in agriculture.
In North Carolina, small farms of less than 10 acres have risen from 2,524 in 2017 to 2,605 in 2022. Farms of 10-49 acres have increased from 5,730 in 2017 to 6,489 in 2022, according to the NCDA&CS.
A recent report from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) argues that there is no reason to be concerned about the loss of farms and farmland.
“Fewer farms and the use of fewer acres to produce more output, with some of those acres being placed into conservation uses in response to environmental policy initiatives, are scarcely causes for policy angst about any need for more farmers and more farmland,” reads the report. “It is more of a reflection of an increasingly efficient US agriculture sector and, therefore, perhaps some reason for modest celebration.”
“NC has seen impressive growth in agricultural output, and there is no reason to expect that to decline in the future,” Barry K. Goodwin, the William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University, told the Carolina Journal. “I am not concerned about the loss of land or farms since much of this pertains to marginal land and hobby farms. Commercial agriculture is strong. The best use of land may not be in farming—we see that abundantly in the triangle region. The census uses a very broad definition of what constitutes a farm, and that skews the statistics as they pertain to commercial agriculture. In 2022 (latest available), livestock was 74.3% of the output value in North Carolina.”
Goodwin is also the co-author of the AEI report.
Others think there is more to consider, beyond the raw production numbers.
“It’s encouraging that we are seeing more and more production from less and less farmland.”
said Jon Sanders, Director of the Center for Food Power and Life, at the John Locke Foundation. “It’s important to point out, however, that not only are we seeing declines in the number of farms and in total farmland, we are also seeing increases in the number of regulations affecting farms as well as the impact and pace of that regulation. Our Sowing Resilience report describes deep and disparate effects that government policies, climate strictures, and state and local regulations have on farms across the state. We’re losing farmland not only to new neighborhoods but also to build large, sprawling solar facilities incentivized by taxpayer giveaways — costing people as taxpayers first and as ratepayers and state agriculture consumers ever afterward.”
Kelly Lester, Policy Analyst for the Center for Food, Power, and Life for the John Locke Foundation, also offered her expertise.
“We’ve seen through Covid that relying too heavily on highly efficient vertical integrated farming practices can have serious repercussions in the face of economic shocks,” Lester told the Carolina Journal in an email. “In addition, the farmer is the backbone of entrepreneurship in this country, and small and medium-sized farmers play a special and important role in the system. Whether it’s providing fresher or more organic foods or practicing and teaching communities about traditional or modern farming practices through agritourism.”
One such example of such environmental policy initiatives is those directed at achieving “net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.” Lester points out how these policies are proving disastrous for American farmers.
“Carbon pricing, ESG reporting requirements, and emissions monitoring have collectively burdened farmers with exorbitant expenses, making it increasingly difficult for them to sustain their livelihoods,” wrote Lester in her most recent research report. “The imposition of these policies showcases a profound disconnect between policymakers and the actual needs of the agriculture sector.”
Sanders draws attention to the importance of technological innovation as farmland continues to decline.
“Increasing production from decreasing farmland also underscores the importance of technological innovation in agriculture to keep feeding a state and a nation with a declining stock of farmland,” saidd Sanders. “One of the key reforms highlighted in our Sowing Resilience report is adding agriculture to the state’s regulatory sandbox. That would allow the state to help incubate and encourage greater technological innovation in agriculture without being prevented or stifled by too much regulation. It’s a reform state legislators should strongly consider.”
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