The average age of U.S. farmers remains a concerning topic. Farmdoc Daily says the 2022 Census of Agriculture confirms that U.S. farmers continue getting older. However, America’s farmers are also becoming younger relative to the U.S. population.
Relative to the rest of the population, the farmers have become slightly younger over the last 60 years. Since 1960, farmers’ ages have increased 7.6 years while the median age of the U.S. population has increased 8.8 years. The average age of the U.S. farmer is 58.1 years as of the 2022 Census. The share of farmers between 45 and 64 was lower in the 2022 versus the 2017 Census of Ag.
In contrast, the shares of people less than 45 and over 65 increased from 19 to 22 percent and from 34 to 39 percent, respectively. In the 2022 Census, 85 percent of farmers older than 65 reported being involved in day-to-day farming decisions.