Nebraska’s number of farms and ranches declined during 2009, according USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Nebraska Field Office.
The number of farms and ranches in the State is 47,200, down 200 or less than 1 percent lower than 2008. Numbers of farms and ranches in Nebraska with less than $100,000 in agricultural sales declined 1,400 farms, while operations with more than $100,000 were up 1,200 farms.
The decline in smaller farms was largely the result of existing farms moving into higher sales categories.
Land in farms and ranches in Nebraska totaled 45.6 million acres, unchanged from last year. The average size of operation increased to 966 acres, up 4 acres from 2008.