News

Number of Michigan farms declining

USDA’s latest summery of farms and farmland says the number of small-sized farms in Michigan is declining.

The National Ag Statistics Service says Michigan had 51,400 farms in 2016, 100 less than the year before.

The loss came from farms with economic sales of less than $10,000 and an average of about 40 acres.

Total land in Michigan farms remained steady at 9.95 million acres and the average farm size gained an acre to 194.

Nationally, there were 8,000 less farms compared to the year before, and the average farm size rose an acre to 442.