The state of US agriculture in 2026
American agriculture in 2026 is a story of fewer but bigger farms. The United States had about 1.87 million farms in 2025, the latest USDA estimate, continuing a slow decline from just over 2 million in 2018. Those farms worked around 874 million acres, close to 39 percent of the total land area of the country, and produced roughly 515 billion dollars of agricultural output.
The sector is financially stronger than a year ago, with net farm income forecast near 180 billion dollars for 2025, but that strength leans heavily on record cattle prices and a large jump in government support payments. Exports, long a pillar of the farm economy, dipped in 2025 before an expected rebound in 2026 and 2027.
The chart below shows the long, steady decline in the number of US farms. It is the single clearest trend in the sector, and the backdrop to almost every other number in this report.
A slow, steady decline: the US lost more than 150,000 farms between 2018 and 2025.
Fewer farms, but bigger ones
The flip side of falling farm numbers is rising farm size. The average US farm grew from 444 acres in 2018 to 469 acres in 2025, as land from farms that closed was absorbed by those that remained. USDA data shows the increase is concentrated at the top, with only the largest sales class, farms selling more than a million dollars a year, actually getting bigger, while mid-sized farms shrink.
This is consolidation in plain numbers. About 96 percent of farms are still family farms, and they account for 83 percent of the value of production, but ownership of land and output is steadily concentrating. The chart tracks the rise in average farm size across the period.
Bigger every year: the average farm grew from 444 to 469 acres as land consolidated.
Which states produce the most agriculture
Farm output is highly concentrated by geography. California is the runaway leader, generating about 67 billion dollars of agricultural production value in 2024, nearly double the next state, on the strength of fruits, vegetables, nuts and dairy. Iowa, Texas, Nebraska and Kansas follow, powered by corn, soybeans and cattle.
Taken together, the Midwest produces around 44 percent of all US agricultural value, and its core states grow more than 60 percent of the corn. The chart ranks the leading agricultural states by production value.
California leads by far: about 67 billion dollars in 2024, nearly twice the value of second-place Iowa.
What US farms produce most
By cash receipts, two commodities dominate: cattle and corn, each generating well above 85 billion dollars, followed by soybeans, dairy products and broiler chickens. In the most recent full-year detail, corn edged cattle for the top spot, but record cattle prices have since pushed cattle and calves to number one nationally.
The mix captures the balance of American agriculture, roughly split between crops led by corn and soybeans and livestock led by cattle, dairy and poultry. The chart shows the five largest commodities by cash receipts.
Cattle and corn on top: each above 85 billion dollars, ahead of soybeans, dairy and broilers.
How much US farms earn and spend
The farm sector took in around 515 billion dollars in cash receipts in 2025, split into about 240 billion from crops and 275 billion from livestock and animal products. Against that, farms spent roughly 467 billion dollars on production costs, from feed and fuel to fertiliser and labour.
What tips the balance into a strong year is government support: direct payments jumped to about 42 billion dollars in 2025, mostly disaster and ad hoc assistance, helping lift net farm income to a forecast 180 billion dollars. The first chart splits receipts between crops and livestock, and the second lays out the sector headline numbers side by side.
Livestock just ahead: animals and products brought in about 275 billion dollars, crops about 240 billion.
Setting income against costs and support shows why 2025 counts as a good year despite soft crop prices, with government payments doing a lot of the work.
Support props up income: about 42 billion dollars of government payments helped lift net farm income to 180 billion.
Where American farm exports go
Exports are central to the farm economy, and USDA forecasts about 179.5 billion dollars of agricultural exports in fiscal 2026, recovering after a weak 2025 and rising to a record 186.5 billion in 2027. The trade balance, however, has flipped: the United States now imports more food and farm goods than it exports, running an agricultural trade deficit.
Mexico is the single largest market at about 31.5 billion dollars, followed by Canada at 28.9 billion, with Southeast Asia a fast-growing destination. The first chart shows the leading export markets.
Neighbours lead: Mexico and Canada together take more than 60 billion dollars of US farm exports.
The picture by commodity is just as concentrated, with a handful of crops and products doing most of the export work.
Corn and soybeans lead: each near 19 billion dollars, ahead of tree nuts and dairy.
Agriculture in the wider economy
Agriculture looms large in national life but small in direct output. Agriculture, food and related industries make up roughly 5.5 percent of US GDP, yet farms on their own contribute only about 1 percent. The bigger footprint comes downstream, in processing, distribution, retail and food service.
Jobs tell the same story. Around 22 million jobs are tied to the agricultural and food sectors, about one in ten in the country, but on-farm work accounts for only about 2.6 million of them. The donut below splits agricultural and food employment between the farm gate and everything beyond it.
Most jobs are off the farm: of about 22 million ag and food jobs, only 2.6 million are on-farm.
The crops that dominate US fields
Two crops define American farming by sheer volume. The United States grew about 14.3 billion bushels of corn and 4.2 billion bushels of soybeans in 2024, dwarfing wheat at roughly 2 billion bushels. Corn feeds livestock, fuels ethanol and anchors exports, while soybeans are crushed for meal and oil and shipped in huge volumes to Asia.
Soybean exports fell to a 13-year low in the 2025 and 2026 marketing year as trade tensions and tariffs cut Chinese purchases, a reminder of how exposed these crops are to global politics. The chart compares production of the three dominant field crops.
Corn towers over the rest: 14.3 billion bushels, more than three times soybeans and seven times wheat.
Who farms America
The people behind US agriculture are getting older. The average age of a farm producer was 58.1 years at the last full census, and about 63 percent of producers were 55 or older, against just 9 percent under the age of 35. An aging workforce, combined with high land prices, makes succession one of the sector big long-term worries.
The picture is slowly diversifying in other ways. Women made up about 36 percent of all producers, and more than a million people counted as beginning farmers with ten years or less of experience. Still, the age skew is stark, and the chart below shows how few young producers there are relative to the over-55 group.
An aging workforce: about 63 percent of producers are 55 or older, only 9 percent under 35.
US agriculture in numbers
A handful of figures capture the sector. There are about 1.87 million farms on 874 million acres, earning some 515 billion dollars, with net income near 180 billion and exports around 179.5 billion. California leads the states, cattle and corn lead the commodities.
A few more facts round out the picture. Farmers receive only about 14.5 cents of every dollar consumers spend on food, the rest going to processing, transport and retail. The national cattle herd stood near 94.8 million head, and about 17,000 farms are certified organic. These numbers matter because agriculture underpins food security, rural economies and a major slice of US trade. A sector of fewer, larger, more export-dependent farms is more productive but also more exposed to weather, prices and global politics.
US agriculture: the big picture
The long arc of American agriculture is consolidation and productivity. Fewer farms work nearly the same land far more efficiently, output keeps rising, and a small on-farm workforce feeds the country and much of the world. In 2026 that system is profitable, but propped up by record livestock prices and unusually large government payments rather than broad-based crop strength.
The pressure points are clear: soft grain prices, a swing to an agricultural trade deficit, tariff-hit soybean exports and an aging farmer population. How policy, trade and technology respond over the next few years will shape whether the sector consolidates further or stabilises. For the wider demographic backdrop, see our data on the US population.
Frequently Asked Questions: US Agriculture
There were about 1.87 million farms in the United States in 2025, the latest USDA count, down from just over 2 million in 2018. The number falls slowly each year as farms consolidate.
About 874 million acres were in farms in 2025, close to 39 percent of the total land area of the country. Farmland has been shrinking gradually while the average farm gets larger, now 469 acres.
Cattle and corn are the two largest sources of farm cash receipts, each above 85 billion dollars, followed by soybeans, dairy and broiler chickens. Record cattle prices pushed cattle to the top in recent years.
California leads by a wide margin, with about 67 billion dollars of agricultural production value in 2024, nearly double any other state. Iowa, Texas, Nebraska and Kansas follow.
Agriculture, food and related industries account for roughly 5.5 percent of US GDP and about 22 million jobs, or one in ten. On-farm activity alone is a smaller slice, around 1 percent of GDP.
USDA forecasts net farm income of about 180 billion dollars for 2025, up sharply from 2024, helped by record cattle prices and high government payments of about 42 billion dollars.
USDA forecasts agricultural exports of about 179.5 billion dollars in fiscal 2026, rising to a record 186.5 billion in 2027. Mexico and Canada are the two largest markets.
Corn and soybeans are the largest export commodities by value, each near 19 billion dollars, followed by tree nuts and dairy products. Mexico, Canada and Southeast Asia are leading destinations.
Not disappearing, but consolidating. About 96 percent of US farms are still family farms and they produce 83 percent of the value, yet the total number keeps falling while the survivors grow larger.
The United States grew about 14.3 billion bushels of corn and 4.2 billion bushels of soybeans in 2024, the two dominant field crops, well ahead of wheat at roughly 2 billion bushels.
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service - Farms and Land in Farms 2025 Summary - farm numbers, acreage and average size.
USDA Economic Research Service - Farm Sector Income Forecast - cash receipts, expenses, government payments and net farm income.
USDA ERS - Ag and Food Statistics, Charting the Essentials - GDP share, employment and farm structure.
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service and ERS - Outlook for US Agricultural Trade - export forecasts, markets and commodities.
USDA ERS - Frequently Asked Questions - leading states and commodities.