2022 Census of Agriculture: Cattle most often the choice of commodity for farm producers with military service

The 2022 Census of Agriculture shows that around 84,000 farms operated by a producer with military service engage in cattle farming (29 percent), making it the most common commodity specialization among those with military service. It is followed closely by “other crop farming” with 79,000 operations (27 percent). “Other animal production” ranks third with approximately 59,000 farms, while operations specializing in “oilseed and grain” and “specialty crops” are less common, with around 37,000 and 30,000 farms respectively. In 2022, there were 289,372 farms operated by at least one producer with current or prior military service, which represents about 15 percent of all farm operations. These farms were mostly small, with an average farm size of 373 acres, compared with the overall U.S. average farm size of 463 acres. Information about farm businesses can be found in the USDA, Economic Research Service report America’s Farms and Ranches at a Glance, 2023 edition.

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