The Rooted Journal: Issue 01

A detailed look at the state of agriculture in the U.S. and the strides made in regenerative farming. FARMING by the NUMBERS

1.89 m NUMBER OF FARMS

879 m ACRES BEING FARMED

17,445

4.9M

CERTIFIED-ORGANIC FARMS

ACRES THAT ARE CERTIFIED ORGANIC

by Cassandra Marketos

AVERAGE SIZE OF A FARM 464 ACRES

3.37 m FARM PRODUCERS *

2.9 m FARMWORKERS

63% BORN IN MEXICO

70% BORN OUTSIDE OF THE U.S.

95% IDENTIFY AS WHITE

33% IDENTIFY AS WHITE

30% LESS THAN 10 YEARS OF FARMING EXPERIENCE

10% IDENTIFY AS INDIGENOUS

36% IDENTIFY AS FEMALE

1.2% IDENTIFY AS BLACK

* 58.1 YEARS AVERAGE AGE

1,775 FARMERS’ MARKETS

7% AVG. GROWTH PER YEAR

426.91 ppm LEVELS OF ATMOSPHERIC CARBON

49% INCREASE SINCE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

26% GLOBAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS CAUSED

BY CONVENTIONAL FARMING METHODS

1994

2019

40% VENDORS SELLING “IMPERFECT PRODUCT” THAT WOULDN’T BE FOUND IN MAINSTREAM GROCERS

60 m METRIC TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE ESTIMATED TO BE SEQUESTERED BY THE USDA’S NEW PARTNERSHIPS FOR CLIMATE-SMART COMMODITIES

14.9 m HOUSEHOLDS WITH ACCESS TO MUNICIPAL FOOD WASTE COLLECTION

90% PERCENTAGE OF OUR OCEANS THAT EXPERIENCED HEATWAVE CONDITIONS AT SOME POINT

38% PERCENTAGE OF FOOD THAT IS NEVER SOLD OR EATEN

SOURCES: Farms and Land in Farms, 2023 Summary, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (February 2024) • 2021 Organic Survey, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (December 2022) • 2022 Census of Agriculture, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (February 2024) • 2017 Agricultural Worker Population Estimates, National Center for Farmworker Health • National Agricultural Workers Survey 2019–2020 • 2019 National Farmers Market Manager Survey, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service and National Agricultural Statistics Service • 2023 BioCycle Nationwide Survey on Residential Food Waste Collection Access • Achieving Zero Food Waste, A State Policy Toolkit (May 2023), Zero Food Waste Coalition • Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers, Joseph Poore, Thomas Nemecek, Science • Climate trends, U.S. Global Change Research Program, Fifth National Climate Assessment • Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, Earth System Research Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (June 2024) • USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities • State of the Global Climate 2023, World Meteorological Organization

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