The Scouting Report: A weekly digest

S.D. farm census, master gardener training, Pierre’s fancy new pool, questioning lupus

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its 2022 Census of Agriculture this month, and it included some interesting numbers for South Dakota. The census, conducted every five years, showed that the total number of farms fell by nearly 6 percent between 2022 and 2017 – and down by almost 11 percent in the two decades between 2022 and 2002.

But there was a notable exception: The number of farms between 180 acres and 499 acres increased from 4,959 in 2017 to 5,119 in 2022. Farms between 50 acres and 179 acres also increased slightly, from 5,909 to 5,917.

It’s the first increase in smallish to mid-sized farms in the state in decades. Indeed, in 1997, there were 6,961 farms of 180 acres to 499 acres. 

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The number of farms 500 to 999 acres fell from 3,713 to 3,438 between 2017 and 2022, while farms 1,000 to 1,999 acres fell from 3,757 to 3,025. The number of operations greater than 2,000 acres dropped from 5,847 to 5,140.

While the average age of farm producers in South Dakota increased by one year to 57.2 years old, there was growth among young farmers. Those aged 25-34 increased to 4,524 from 4,496 in 2017, and farms owned by folks 35-44 years old increased to 6,641 from 6,205.

The total number of farm producers increased to 51,071 from 48,913. Meanwhile, female producers increased to 15,910 from 14,862.

Scouting Hollywood: Feb. 22-28

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