Source: USDA'S NASS NC FIELD OFFICE, 5/2/14
 
Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the final 2012 Census of Agriculture results sharing a wide-range of information about what agricultural products were raised in the United States in 2012, and where, how and by whom they were grown. The data, which is reported at the national, state and county level, will help farmers, ranchers, local officials, agribusiness and others make decisions for the future.

“The 2012 Census of Agriculture provides a wide range of demographic, economic, land, and crop and livestock production information as well as first-time or expanded data,” said Dee Webb, NC State Statistician.  “Many of these data about North Carolina and our counties are only collected and reported as part of the every-five-year census.”

The 2012 Census of Agriculture data show the following key trends for North Carolina.

•         The average age of North Carolina principal operators increased from 57.3 in 2007 to 58.9 in 2012.
•         Number of Farms in North Carolina decreased from 52,913 in 2007 to 50,218 in 2012.
•         North Carolina Land in Farms experienced a slight decrease to 8.4 million in 2012 from 8.5 million in 2007.
•         In 2012, the Total Value of Agricultural Products Sold was $12.6 billion, an increase of 22 percent from 2007.
•         Livestock Sales accounted for $8.3 billion or 66% of the Total Value of Agricultural Products Sold while Crop Sales accounted for $4.3 billion or 34% of the total.
•         North Carolina cropland harvested increased from 4.2 million acres in 2007 to 4.4 million acres in 2012.

“I would like to thank all of the operators who responded to the Census of Agriculture because without their input this level of detailed data down to the county level would not be possible” said Dee Webb, State Statistician.

To provide easier access to the data, NASS created a number of online tools for people to find and use Census data, including:
•      Quick Stats 2.0 – an online database to retrieve customized tables. For those new to this tool, a new tutorial video provides easy-to-follow instructions.
•      API – a tool for developers.  
•      Agricultural Atlas Maps - profiles of the nation’s agriculture at the county-level in a series of multicolor pattern and dot maps
•      Desktop Data Query Tool- a downloadable desktop tool to analyze data without Internet access once you have downloaded and installed this tool. 

For more information about the Census of Agriculture including all the final 2012 Census of Agriculture results, and tools to access and share the data, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov.