June 18, 2004

Texas Is Livestock, Poultry Sales Leader In US

The Texas Agricultural Statistics Service has released the results of the 2002 Census of Agriculture.  The Census is conducted every five years to assess trends and determine current needs of farms and ranchers at the local level in America.

The Census of Agriculture counted 228,926 farms and ranches in Texas. These farms sold $14.1 billion worth of agriculture products, an average of $61,744 per farm. Almost 72 percent of these farms sold less than $10,000 worth of agricultural products and 45 percent reported less than $2,500 in sales.

The 2002 Census of Agriculture showed that Texas led the nation in the value of livestock and poultry sold with $10.4 billion. The state ranked sixth in sales of crops and second in total market value of agricultural products sold.