Released March 5, 2009
The number of farms in Rhode Island has risen sharply in the last several years and a goodly number of them are selling directly to the public according to a census conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The just-released census, taken for the year 2007 (USDA conducts a census every five years), compares statistics that were logged in 2002 and for Rhode Island there is a 42 percent increase in the number of farms although the majority of them are small operations with annual sales of less than $50,000. In 2007 there were 1,219 farms in the state, an increase of 361 from the 2002 census.
While the green industry (nursery, horticulture, turf) still represents the lion’s share in agricultural market sales in the state (60 percent), that percentage is down for 2007 in comparison to the 67 percent share the green industry had in 2002. Those statistics indicate that the sale of local food crops and livestock is up.
Kenneth Ayars, chief of the state Division of Agriculture and a URI/CELS graduate, said the statistics indicate there “there is a huge interest in local foods.” He cited the cost of energy in growing and transporting imported food, a growth in interest in organically grown foods and the highly publicized food scares as factors favoring increased consumer support for locally grown food.
At the same time, the green industry is heavily reliant on development and with the downturn in the economy, sales of turf and ornamental plants are bound to suffer.
While the number of farms is up, the average size is down. In 2007 the average farm size in acres was 56. Five years earlier, the average size was 71 acres.
Nonetheless, the census shows that there was an increase of 11 percent in the amount of farmland in the state, a significant leap in light of the fact that in the last 100 years, the state lost 80 percent of its farmland.
“Rhode Island’s percentage increase in farm numbers is the highest in New England and likely in the U.S.” says Ayars.
Market value of farm production (both crop and livestock sales) increased by 19 percent from 2002 to 2007 with $65.9 million in total sales reported for 2007. The average market value of production per farm dropped from $64,740 in 2002 to $54,067 in 2007, indicating that while the state has more farms, most of them are small with only modest incomes. Of the 1,219 farms in the state, nearly 500 of them were 10 to 49 acres in size and about 350 farms are nine acres or smaller. The number of farms that make more than $50,000 in annual sales increased slightly from 168 to 173.
Nonetheless, farm sales, especially direct-to-consumer, are up. In 2007, there were 249 farms in the state that sell directly to the public, meaning that 20 percent of all the farms in the state were selling directly—the 7th highest percentage in the country.
In 2007 the census reports the state had $6.3 million in direct sales to the public. This represented 9.5 percent of all agricultural market sales, giving the state a number one ranking among U.S. states in that category.
Ayars points out that the USDA census figures for market value of production do not include “value added sales” such as pies, preserves and other foodstuffs that an increasing number of farms are producing using their own crops. Many farms also are active in agri-tourism practices (tours, hayrides) that can bring in added income.
Rhode Islanders are tending more and more toward purchasing organic produce and livestock. In 2007 the state ranked 5th in the nation among farms with organic sales. Another statistic shows that Rhode Island ranked 8th in the nation in organic sales as percent of all agricultural sales.
Other interesting statistics state that 24 percent of all farmers in the state were women and the average age of farmers in the state is 56.
In a comparison with other New England states, Rhode Island was ranked 7th in the percentage of all farms that have direct sales but it ranked first in the category of direct market sales as a percentage of all farm sales.
As to the number of farms, Providence County led the way with 95 farms that sell direct market. Washington County was second with 85 farms.
Ayars credits Rhode Islanders for continually supporting bond issues that are designed to protect farmland from development and also the growing number of land trusts that have been established, both private and municipal, to preserve undeveloped land.
While protection of undeveloped land and farmland is highly successful in the state, the next step, he says, is to make some of that land available for agricultural use either on a lease or purchase basis—especially to members of the younger generations who are interested it agriculture as an occupation or as a sideline.
Rhode Island farmland, he notes, is still the highest priced in the nation but support for local produce seems to be healthy.
He cites the success of the Farm Fresh RI initiative which promotes locally-raised foods for both commercial and consumer use via a very effective website. The number of farmers’ markets has increased markedly in the last several years in the state and there are even a couple markets that operate throughout the winter.
A census breakdown of the value of crops and livestock sold by category is as follows:
- Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture and sod--$40.7 million
- Vegetables, melons, potatoes and sweet potatoes--$8.1 million
- Fruits, tree nuts, berries--$4.4 million
- Milk, dairy products--$4.5 million
- Poultry and eggs--$1.9 million
- Aquaculture--$1.6 million
- Other data show there are 5,085 heads of cattle, calves in the state and 3,486 horses and ponies.
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