According to Wisconsin Public Radio, the state’s number of farms has seen a substantial decrease in recent years, even as it remains an agricultural powerhouse.
Wisconsin lost 10% of its farms and 30% of its dairy farms over the five-year period between 2017 and 2022, the USDA reported. It had 58,521 farms in 2022 and 6,216 dairy farms. The data shows the state’s remaining farms have more land, higher profits, and larger herds. The average farm size in 2022 was 236 acres, the largest in over 20 years.
In 2022, the state’s agricultural products had a market value of almost $16.7 billion, ranking 10th nationwide and up from $11.4 billion in 2017.
Demographic information showed that Wisconsin saw a 16% increase in new or beginning farmers — who have been farming for 10 years or less — since 2017. The number of female farmers decreased slightly from 2017. In 2022, over 90% of Wisconsin farmers were white.
