Key Findings

1. A series of harsh anti-agriculture policies imposed by Washington’s elected leaders has resulted in a steady decline in the number of farms and ranches in the state.
2. Washington state lost 3,717 farms between 2017 and 2022; an average of 743 farms a year.
3. The average size of farms in acres increased to 432 between 2017 and 2022. The larger average farm size is an indicator of consolidation.
4. Farms and ranches in Washington state earned $12.7 billion in income in 2022. The same year, the cost of production was $11 billion.
5. In 2022, the average farm earned $53,000 after expenses.
6. Farm labor accounted for $2.76 billion in costs in 2022; up from $2.18 billion in 2017.

Introduction

The federal government has been collecting information about the health of American farming through the U.S. Census of Agriculture since 1840. Until 1996, the agriculture census was conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce. It was then moved under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service. Since 1982, the U.S. Census of Agriculture has been conducted consistently every five years with data collection occurring in every numbered year that ends with a “2” or a “7.”

The historical context of the U.S. Census of Agriculture is important. National leaders have recognized that the agricultural community needed to be counted as both part of the regular U.S. Census of population and separately through a census specifically aimed at the needs of food producers throughout the country.

The U.S. Census of Agriculture data is distilled into individual states’ data sets to help guide state-level decisions about how to support America’s farmers and ranchers. The 2022 data was recently released and shows some grim numbers for Washington state’s agricultural community. Elected leaders in our state have clearly neglected the concerns of rural Washingtonians and it shows in the poor outcomes these communities have experienced.

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