On Georgia’s farms, Old MacDonald is getting even older.
The average age of farmers in the state has risen to 59, new federal data shows. And the number of farmers continues to shrink without many younger farmers to replace them, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest Census of Agriculture, which was released Tuesday.
At the same time, the number of farms in Georgia is falling at a much faster rate than the pool of farm acres.
Georgia had nearly 3,200 fewer farms in 2022 than it did in 2017, the year of the next most recent census. That was a contraction of 7.5%. In the same period, the state’s farm acres declined by just 0.14%. Average farm size grew to 253 acres.
A decline in the number of people directly involved in farming has been underway for years in the state and the United States as a whole. Georgia has 10,000 fewer farms than it did 20 years ago and 800,000 fewer farm acres. It fell to just under 10 million acres in 2022.
The number of farm workers in the state fell in the most recent count as well as the number of farm decision makers, who the census calls producers. The number of women producers as well as the number of producers under the age of 25 have risen since the 2017 census in Georgia.
But every age group of producers between 25 and 64 has seen declines. Meanwhile, the number of producers 65 and older is booming. They now account for a remarkable 40% of Georgia’s agriculture producers.
While Georgia farm expenses have risen sharply since the previous census, the market value of agriculture products sold has grown even faster, the USDA found.
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