Background: Every five years, the USDA conducts a Census of Agriculture. (This is twice as often as the U.S. Census). The data collected in the ag census is used for a variety of purposes, including policy making, economic analysis, geographic data for planning, assessment of technology use, and emergency planning. Farm size is measured in a variety of ways, including dollar value and acreage.
The story: Marion Nestle of Food Politics summarizes key points. Most U.S. farms – about 88% – are small, but the midsize and large farms account for about 80% of sales.
Dr. Nestle is speaking on Monday, February 2nd at UC Berkeley as part of the Berkeley Food Institute’s Edible Education 101 series. It will be live-streamed beginning at 6:30 p.m. PST. Complete details are available here.