2002 Census of Agriculture Counts Fewer Large Farms in Wyoming

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service announced preliminary results from the 2002 Census of Agriculture. This first release of information includes demographic information such as number of farms, sex and race of operator, age of operator and, for the first time, data about multiple operators of a single unit.

In Wyoming, State Statistician Dick Coulter said that the number of farms and ranches in the state, at 9,444, was about the same as in the 1997 Census. However, this is somewhat misleading because more small farms were counted in 2002. The number of farms with a value of sales over $10,000 totaled 5,008 which is a drop of 14 percent from 5,794 in 1997. Similarly, the number of farms with 180 acres or more totaled 5,656 which is a drop of 9 percent from 6,184 in 1997. Operations were counted as farms if they have annual sales of agricultural products of $1,000 or more. Also included were operations with five or more horses and places with 100 acres or more of pastureland.

Other information from the 2002 Census revealed that the average age of operator in Wyoming was 54.2 years, near the 1997 average of 54.3.

For the first time, the 2002 Census counted up to three operators for each operation. A total of 15,804 operators were counted. Of these, 5,515 or 35 percent were women. There were a total of 29,851 people living in all the operators' households.

For the 9,444 principal operators, 61 percent listed farming as their primary occupation. Also, 56 percent had a job off the farm, compared with 55 percent in 1997.

The farm and ranch operators in Wyoming were overwhelmingly White, accounting for 98.1 percent of the principal operators. American Indians accounted for another 1.5 percent. The remainder were African American, Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or Asian.

The full Census report will be released in June 2004 and will include state and county information on land use, crops, livestock, expenses, and value of production.

All reports for the 2002 Census of Agriculture will be available through the NASS web site at www.usda.gov/nass.