Animal Farm: A Regional Comparison of Livestock on Farms Between 1910 and 2012

Click the graphic to enlarge it and look at a comparison of livestock on farms in the Herkimer and Oneida Counties region now, when only about 20% of the land is farmland, compared to 1910, when more than 60% of the land was being farmed.

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Census of Agriculture: Twenty Years of Tracking Changes in Farm Commodity Sales in Oneida County

With the recent release of the 2012 Census of Agriculture I wanted to look at some of the longer term trends in farming. One of the things that looked interesting was examining the changes in the overall commodities that local agribusinesses have produced over the last, let's say, 20 years. I did this both in terms of their annual sales (in inflation adjusted dollars), and as a percent of the total annual commodities market.

If nothing else is clear, this much should be: milk and dairy products are kings in Oneida County! Far and away the single largest piece of the market belongs to cows ! As the chart below shows, dairy production has made up more than half of the total agricultural business market in the county in each census since 1992. Interestingly, though, it appears to have taken a bit of a slide downward in the last few years, slipping from 64% to about 54% of the total market.

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Of course what comprises the remainder of the farm commodities is also of interest. In the next chart, you can see what percent of the total market seven other groups of commodities made up annually in each census year.

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To get a better view of how each commodity has fared since 1992, below are sets of graphs showing the inflation adjusted sales value for each of these agribusinesses in Oneida County from 1992 through 2012. By examining each on it's own merit, you can see whether they appear to have grown in market share, declined in market share, or remained relatively stable over the past 20 years.

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2012 Census of Agriculture County Profiles Available

The County profiles for the Census of Agriculture are now available from the USDA! Click on this link to select the county in NY you are interested in seeing !

In the meantime here are two simple pie charts about farm land in Herkimer and Oneida Counties that come from the profiles.

Herkimer County

 

Oneida County

2012 Census of Agriculture NOW AVAILABLE !

The 2012 Census of Agriculture is now available and can be accessed through the US Department of Agriculture website. While county profiles are not yet available, you can look at breakouts by county by state, so it's just a matter of going through some of the pages to find Herkimer and Oneida County data.

Below is just a small table of data I pulled out from the 2012 Census of Agriculture and some comparatives form the last time it was done in 2007. Visit the USDA site and find out more about our regions vital farming community.

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LAST CALL: Census of Agriculture Ends May 31st

With the window to respond to the 2012 Census of Agriculture officially closing on May 31, 2013 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is urging farmers and ranchers not to miss this opportunity to be counted and help determine the future of farming in America. USDA has already received more than 2 million completed Census forms.If you have not sent in your Census form and are a farmer with an active farm, visit the Census of Agriculture website . For those that have received their forms in the mail you can do your Census of Agriculture form online.

The Census of Agriculture is the leading source of facts and figures about American agriculture. Conducted every five years, the Census provides a detailed picture of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. It is the only source of uniform, comprehensive agricultural data for every state and county in the United States.

The 2012 Census of Agriculture collects information concerning all areas of farming and ranching operations, including production expenses, market value of products, and operator characteristics. This information is used by everyone who provides services to farmers and rural communities - including federal, state and local governments, agribusinesses, and many others. Census of Agriculture data is used to make decisions about many things that directly impact farmers, including:

• community planning
• store/company locations
• availability of operational loans and other funding
• location and staffing of service centers
• farm programs and policies

In the meantime, as we wait for these to be tallied and the data released, here are the county profiles from the last Census of Agriculture for Herkimer and Oneida Counties. Each is two pages long, so be sure to look at both pages of the profiles below.

Herkimer County Census of Agriculture Profile (2007) 

Click to Enlarge Herkimer County Page 1

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Oneida County Census of Agriculture Profile (2007)

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