DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture says in a new report that the number of farms in Iowa continues to slide.
In an annual report released Thursday the USDA says Iowa farms fell to 88,000 last year, 500 fewer than the year before. Most of the decrease came in the small farm category, those with annual sales between $1,000 and $10,000.
The number of Iowa farms has fallen 1.2 percent since 2010, while the average farm size is up 1.2 percent in the same period, a reflection of national trends.
The average farm in Iowa is 347 acres, up one acre from the year before.
Iowa had 30.5 million acres in farms last year, down 100,000 acres from the year before.
