Click here for online version of 2005-2006 edition.

Total land area:  25,388,000 acres.

                       
Farms: 84,000. (Ranked fourth in nation, behind Texas, Missouri and Iowa.)

Land in farms:  13,800,000 acres.  Farmland accounts for 54 per cent of the total acreage in Kentucky.

Average Farm Size:  163 acres.

Average value of land and buildings on farms:  $2,750 per acre.

Top 5 Agricultural Counties by cash receipts, 2005:

Woodford $373,317,000.00

Fayette $354,260,000.00

Graves $198,205,000.00

Bourbon $136,204,000.00

Webster $112,901,000.00

The value of Kentucky's international agricultural markets:

Kentucky farm exports bring over $1 billion into Kentucky communities every year. 

Kentucky Agricultural Exports, 2005, Top 10 Categories

(in millions of dollars)

Tobacco, unmanufactured, 339.9

Live animals & Meat (including horses, excluding poultry ) $260.5

Soybeans and soy products, $154.0

Feed grains and products, $92.5

Wheat and products, $77.7

Poultry and products, $76.4

Feeds and fodders, $42.7

Dairy products, $13.3

Seeds, $8.6

Hides and skins, $1.6

According to the 2002 Census of Agriculture:

• Sixty-seven percent of all Kentucky farms sold less than $10,000 worth of agricultural products, compared to 59 percent in 1997 and 55 percent in 1992.
• Number of tobacco farms declined 38 percent from 1997. Tobacco acres harvested fell 56 percent.
• Corn acres harvested declined 8 percent while soybean acres harvested increased 5 percent from 1997.
• Total cattle and calf inventory was down 3 percent from 1997. Beef cow inventory decreased 2 percent while milk cow inventory fell 17 percent from 1997.
• Total hog and pig inventory fell 34 percent from 1997.
• Fifty-four percent of Kentucky operators considered farming their primary occupation, up from 40 percent in 1997.
• The average operator age was 55 years old, up slightly from 54 years old in 1997.