. Cranberries; : the national cranberry magazine. Cranberries. \cres Per Farm Rising, Total Farms Decreasing The number of farms in the continues to diminish, says the Statistical Recording Service of the USD A. The number dropped a mere 1% from the previous year to an estimated milUon farms in operation around the country. Early estimates for 1977 show a similar decline, another 1% drop to around million. By the same token, the size of the average farm rose. The gradual trickling away of the Nation's farms also reaches over into the amount of land in farming. In 1966, for
. Cranberries; : the national cranberry magazine. Cranberries. \cres Per Farm Rising, Total Farms Decreasing The number of farms in the continues to diminish, says the Statistical Recording Service of the USD A. The number dropped a mere 1% from the previous year to an estimated milUon farms in operation around the country. Early estimates for 1977 show a similar decline, another 1% drop to around million. By the same token, the size of the average farm rose. The gradual trickling away of the Nation's farms also reaches over into the amount of land in farming. In 1966, for example, American farmers raised crops and livestock on billion acres. But a decade of successive year-to-year declines brought last year's total to billion. This year, another million acres are expected to drop out of the farmland inventory. But while farm numbers have shrunk by 15 percent in the past 10 years, total land in farming registered only a 4 percent decline. That's reflected in the average size of the American farm, which has climbed eachyear from I966's 348 acres to 390 acres in 1976. Experts see the 1977 average edging up another 3 acres per farm-as in the past 2 years-to 393 acres. While it lost roughly 2,000 farms since the 1975 count. Texas claimed the most farms and ranciics in last year's tally-some 205,000. In 1977, another farm opera- tions could disappear in the Lone Star State. And after rcnKiininu unchanged since 1973, total farm- land in Texas is expected to slip by about 400,000 acres-the biggest decline seen for any State except Kansas, which is expected to lose 100,000 acres more. Not surprisingly, the smallest of our 48 adjacent States also showed the fewest farms. Only 680 farms dotted the State of Rhode Island in 1976, with 65,000 acres in crop and livestock production. The fore- cast for 1977: No change. Statistical Barometer 1974 1975 1976—latest available data Farm Food Market Basket:^ Retail cost (1967^100) 162 175
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