Pastureland, cow-calf sectors bucking agriculture consolidation trend

According to updated figured from USDA analysis of the Census of Agriculture, the consolidation of cropland into larger farms continues to persistent over time and across most crops and most states. Cropland accounted for 44 percent of all U.S. farmland in 2017, while permanent pasture and rangeland accounted for 45 percent. As cropland shifted to larger operations between 1987 and 2017, pasture and rangeland moved the other way, shifting away from the largest farms and ranches toward smaller operations. Farms and ranches with 10,000 acres or more of pasture and rangeland held 43 percent of all such acreage in 2017, down from 51 percent in 1987, with most of the land moving to farms and ranches with less than 500 acres. Whereas cropland consolidation has been widespread and persistent, livestock consolidation has followed a different pattern. It is not as persistent over time as cropland consolidation, instead showing very large increases in some periods and little change in others. Moreover, in one important sector—beef cow-calf operations—there was very little consolidation. Read more at USDA ERS Amber Waves…