Almond Board Optimism and Census of Ag Shows Farm Losses
From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.
**Despite economic challenges for the almond business, the
Almond Board of California paints an optimistic outlook for the industry, emphasizing ongoing efforts to build demand for almonds by easing trade barriers and making strides in marketing, innovation and research.
Almond Board President Clarice Turner says with tangible signs of robust demand, having shipped over 200 million pounds of almonds for 11 straight months, the board is “confident that better days lie ahead.”
**The 2022 Census of Agriculture shows the U.S. had just over 1.9 million farms, down 10% from over 2.1 million in 2012.
The last two Census of Ag surveys saw the number of farms decrease in all four farm size categories.
Farms with annual revenue of less than $10,000 saw the largest drop, declining by 13%.
Large farms with $1 million or more in revenue increased by 32%.
**In a letter to House and Senate Ag Committees, the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance expressed disappointment that specialty crop production, which represents nearly half the farm gate value of American agriculture, is left out of the final year-end economic assistance package.
The Alliance reiterates the need for Congress to provide certainty to specialty crop growers by passing a bipartisan five-year Farm Bill, instead of an extension, which delays much-needed investments for the industry.
