The headline from the Hutchinson News brought good news for Kansas: This years wheat crop looks promising, even though its development has been slowed by cool weather this spring.
The wheat crop and agriculture in general dont seem interesting or relevant to most Kansans. After all, the percentage of the states residents who work on farms is small probably under 5 percent. Thats more than the national average of about 2 percent, but still relatively meager.
But agriculture is one of those industries that has an outsized effect on our state economy. The property taxes landowners pay, the thousands of jobs in ag-related businesses, the retail sales of farm machinery and products, they all pack a punch that most of us feel in one way or another.
And like the rest of the world, agriculture is changing. Every five years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducts a census of farmers to assess those changes, so programs and policies can effectively adjust.
Here are some key findings from the 2017 census and other sources.
Fewer farms but more
farmers
In Kansas and across the country, the numbers of farms are declining, but there are some interesting angles to that longtime trend. One is that the number of producers actually increased from 2012 to 2017.
Or maybe not. The information on the USDA website hints that more farm operations are counting spouses as producers.
While the number of male producers declined 1.7 percent, the number of female producers increased nearly 27 percent, the USDA document reads, underscoring the effectiveness of the attempt to better represent all people involved in farm decision making.
Its also possible that a portion of the increase reflects the increase in larger operations that involve more than one owner or manager.
Growth at the ends
For more than a decade, the most noteworthy changes in farm operations have been in very big and very small farms.
In Kansas, the number of farms with 50 are fewer acres has grown by about 1,600 since 1997. Nationwide, there are about 120,000 more small farms than 20 years ago.
During the same time, the number of farms with more than 2,000 acres has increased by 500 in Kansas and by more than 10,000 nationwide.
The numbers of farms in the middle have been on the decline for decades. The reasons have to do with technology, equipment and economies of scale. Like many other sectors of the economy, a larger operation offers efficiencies. Think of it along the same lines as why Costco or Sams Club can sell you stuff for less than you can buy it at a smaller store.
Feast and famine
Super-sizing doesnt guarantee profits. Few businesses are as vulnerable to the vagaries of nature and politics as agriculture.
A hailstorm. A trade war. Too much worldwide supply. A late freeze. Any one or combination of factors can mean a disastrous year. On the flip side, timely rain, reliable trade pacts and currency rates that favor exports can mean a boon.
