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FAMILY FARMS OVERWHELMING MAJORITY IN WEST VIRGINIA, SAYS CENSUS

First Look at the 2002 West Virginia Census of Agriculture The 2002 Census of Agriculture is the most comprehensive source of statistics portraying our Nation's agriculture. It is the only source of uniform agricultural data across the United States. A farm is defined as any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the reference year. Distribution of Farms by Sales: 2002 Diversity of Operators: 2002 Type of Organization: 2002 Count of Farms: 1974-2002 Farms by Size: 1997 & 2002

The West Virginia Agriculture Statistics Service (WVASS) Tuesday revealed a sneak peak of its full 2002 Census of Agriculture, due out in June. Among the highlights: West Virginia is the number one state in the country in percentage of family farms, followed by Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina. Individuals or families run 95.3 percent of the Mountain State’s farms.

“The family farm is alive and well in West Virginia,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. “The communities of this state continue to foster a rural lifestyle that residents of other states would love to have – and agriculture is a large part of that appeal. This preliminary census data shows that farming continues to be a stable and productive element of our economy.”

The 2002 Census of Agriculture is the most comprehensive source of statistics portraying our Nation's agriculture. It is the only source of uniform agricultural data across the United States.

A farm is defined as any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the reference year.

The census data also revealed that operations that sold more than a half-million dollars worth of products grew by 33 farms – up from 195 to 228 in the past five years. The average age of a West Virginia farmer remained steady at just over 56 years – approximately three years older than the nation’s average farmer.

This census has also gathered data on women in agriculture in the first-ever effort to comprehensively measure the number of women involved in day-to-day farming. In West Virginia, those women make up a quarter of all farm operators.

The full Census of Agriculture, due out June 3, will include a much broader picture of agriculture in West Virginia and the nation. Issued every five years, the full Census of Agriculture includes detailed information on the amounts and values of crops and livestock, as well as information on farm labor and productivity.

Contact: Buddy Davidson
Communications Officer
304/558-3708, 361-9484 (pager)
bdavidson@ag.state.wv.us

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.