The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) announced the results of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, spanning more than 6 million data points about America’s farms and ranches and the people who operate them, down to the county level.

Here are Key Summary Points:

• There were 71,123 farms and ranches in Illinois during 2022, down 2% from five years ago.  The average farm size was 370 acres, down 2 acres from the previous Census of Agriculture in 2017.
• Illinois remained the #1 state for soybeans, horseradish, and pumpkin acres
  • There were more than 33,000 farms that grew soybeans in Illinois during 2022.
  • Nearly 650 farms grew pumpkins in Illinois, and more than 68% of those acres were harvested for processing.
  • 50 Illinois farms grew more than 2,000 acres of horseradish in 2022.
  • Illinois was #2 in corn acres, #3 in total crop sales, and #4 in hog inventory.

• Illinois farms and ranches produced $26.4 billion in agricultural products, up 55% from the $17.0 billion that was produced in 2017.
• Farm production expenses totaled $17.8 billion. That is up 33% from 2017.
• The top 5 counties by total farm sales are Iroquois, McLean, Livingston, LaSalle and Champaign
• The top 5 counties by Average Sales/Farm are Gallatin, Lawrence, Logan, DeKalb and Piatt

In terms of demographics:

• The average age of all Illinois producers was 58.6, up from 58.0 in 2017.
• 33,927 female producers accounted for 28.0% of all Illinois producers.
• The number of Illinois farmers and ranchers under age 35 was 10,632, and that was 8.8% of all IL producers.
• Lastly but not least, cover crop acres totaled 881,228 in 2022 and that is up 24% from 2017.

Despite a decrease in acres overall, National Agricultural Statistics Service Illinois State Statistician Mark Schleusener said farmers, except for those in the west, fared well throughout the state. 

“I think one of the surprising things for 2022 was the combination of good yields and good prices in Illinois,” he said. “Usually, we don't get the two together. If there's a production problem, the price is usually high, and if production is good the price is usually low. But, because of a series of complicated factors, Illinois farmers were blessed with the good weather and the good prices.” Listen to the latest episode of IL Corn TV on Monday for a deeper dive into the census with Schleusener!

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