Kansas Farms Down in Numbers

Two combines work late to cut wheat in a field on the wide open plains.

A government report shows Kansas had fewer farms and ranches last year and fewer acres used for agriculture.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Friday that the 59,600 farms counted in the state in 2016 was down 800 farms from the previous year. All of those losses came in operations that had less than $100,000 in agricultural sales.

The number of farming operations with sales of more than $100,000 remained unchanged in Kansas.

Land used in farms and ranches in the state totaled 45.9 million acres. That is down 100,000 acres from the prior year.

Farms size averaged 770 acres, up eight acres from the year earlier.