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Top Five Types of Massachusetts Farms

Massachusetts Agricultural Census 2017

When identifying the most prominent types of farms in Massachusetts, there are many different ranking systems that can be adopted. In Massachusetts, farms are seen as an important part of rural character because farming can maintain open space in what has become a densely populated state. To identify the uses of our open land, we begin by presenting rankings of the top five types of farms in Massachusetts in each of the census years 2017, 2012, and 2007. Rankings are presented in three ways, ranking farms by: (1) the number of farms by farm type, (2) the number of acres by farm type, and (3) the market value of products by farm type.

Referring to Table 1.1, which ranks the top five types of farms by the number of farms, the top five farms in Massachusetts as of 2017 were those involved in: hay farming; vegetable and melon farming; horse and other equine production; fruit and tree nut farming; and greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture.  In 2012, the top four farms were those involved in horse and other equine production; hay farming; greenhouse, nursery and floriculture; vegetables and melons; and fruit and nut tree farming. In 2007, the fifth-ranked farm type by number of farms was beef cattle ranching and farming. In 2012, vegetable and melon farming entered the top five rank of farms by number of farms, and this trend continued in 2017. Hay farming returned to the top of the rankings, while horse and other equine farming fell between 2012 and 2017. Fruit and tree nut farming rebounded between 2012 and 2017, while greenhouse, nursery and horticulture fell in between those Census years. 

Table 1.1: Top Five Massachusetts Farm Types by Number of Farms (2017)
Type of Farm Number of Farms Percent of All Mass. Farms
Hay Farming 1,001 13.82%
Vegetables and melons 908 12.54%
Horse and Other Equine 892 12.32%
Fruit, tree nuts and berries 845 11.67%
Greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture 777 10.73%
Table 1.2: Top Five Massachusetts Farm Types by Number of Farms (2012)
Type of Farm Number of Farms Percent of All Mass. Farms
Horse and Other Equine 1,183 15.25%
Hay Farming 1,097 14.15%
Greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture 968 12.48%
Vegetables and melons 923 11.90%
Fruit, tree nuts and berries 779 10.05%
Table 1.3: Top Five Massachusetts Farm Types by Number of Farms (2007)
Type of Farm Number of Farms Percent of All Mass. Farms
Hay Farming 1,278 16.60%
Horse and Other Equine production 1,117 14.50%
Fruit, tree nuts and berries 893 11.60%
Greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture 865 11.20%
Beef cattle ranching and farming 804 10.50%

Different types of farms require different amounts of land (Land in Farms - Acres), so ranking farms by their land use yields different results. Examining Table 1.4, hay farming was the number one type of farm by land use in 2017, followed by fruit, tree nut and berry farming, dairy cattle and milk production, vegetable and melon farming, and beef cattle ranching and farming. These rankings mirror the rankings in 2012, which again vary only slightly from those in 2007. In 2012, other crop farming ranked fifth, while beef and cattle ranching did not break the top five farm types in acres.

What does “Other” mean?

A farm is classied as "other" when its output does not t into one of the well dened farm types. These farms might produce unusual crops or might produce a variety of crops with no one commodity accounting for more than 50 percent of farm output. A farm might be classi- ed as "other crop production" if it produced some vegetables, some tobacco, and fruits such as strawberries or raspberries. Other animal production includes farms that do not t into the farm types shown or do not have one product that represents 50 percent of more of the value of their farm output.

One striking difference between the rankings by land use in 2007, 2012, and 2017 (shown in tables 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6) is the drop in the rank of dairy cattle and milk production. Between 2007 and 2017, this type of farming lost almost 16,000 acres due to continued diffuculties throughout the dairy industry.

Table 1.4: Top Five Massachusetts Farm Types by Number of Acres (2017)
Type of Farm Number of Acres of Mass. Farmland Percent of All Mass. Farmland
Hay Farming 104,304 21.21%
Fruit, tree nuts and berries 79,697 16.21%
Dairy Cattle and Milk Production 49,744 10.12%
Vegetables and melons 47,082 9.58%
Beef cattle ranching and farming 45,200 9.19%
Table 1.5: Top Five Massachusetts Farm Types by Number of Acres (2012)
Type of Farm Number of Acres of Mass. Farmland Percent of All Mass. Farmland
Hay Farming 116,980 22.35%
Fruit, tree nuts and berries 80,568 15.40%
Dairy Cattle and Milk Production 50,367 9.62%
Vegetables and melons 42,148 8.05%
Other Crop Farming 42,024 8.03%
Table 1.6: Top Five Massachusetts Farm Types by Number of Acres (2007)
Type of Farm Number of Acres of Mass. Farmland Percent of All Mass. Farmland
Hay Farming 142,168 27.45%
Fruit, tree nuts and berries 68,566 13.24%
Dairy Cattle and Milk Production 65,645 12.68%
Beef cattle ranching and farming 50,890 9.83%
Vegetabes and melons 44,974 8.68%

When we examine the market value of products sold by different types of farms, differences in the top five types of farms also arise (Market Value by Farm Type). As shown in Tables 1.7, 1.8, and 1.9, greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture ranks number one based on market value of products sold in the market for all three census years, accounting for over 29 percent of Massachusetts’s market value of agricultural products offered in 2017. Notable increases in the market value of products offered by vegtable and melon farms were observed between 2012 and 2017, increasing from around 16 percent to almost 24 percent of Massachusetts’s market value of agricultural products offered. The dominant crop in the fruit, tree nut and berries category has been cranberries. The decreases seen in the market value for this category have been due to decreases in harvested acreage and weaker cranberry prices. Finally, in 2012 Animal Aquaculture enters the top five Massachusetts farms by market value of products, and this trend continue in 2017.

Table 1.7: Top Five Massachusetts Farm Types by Market Value of Products (2017)
Type of Farm Market Value of Product ($1,000) Percent of All Mass. Farmland
Greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture 134,348 29.36%
Vegetables and melons 107,831 23.57%
Fruit, tree nuts and berries 85,287 18.64%
Dairy cattle and milk production 54,911 12.00%
Animal aquaculture 29,662 6.48%
Table 1.8: Top Five Massachusetts Farm Types by Market Value of Products (2012)
Type of Farm Market Value of Product ($1,000) Percent of Total Mass. Market Value
Greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture 146,352 29.74%
Fruit, tree nuts and berries 122,560 24.90%
Vegetables and melons 80,838 16.43%
Dairy cattle and milk production 55,455 11.27%
Animal aquaculture 23,223 4.72%
Table 1.9: Top Five Massachusetts Farm Types by Market Value of Products (2007)
Type of Farm Market Value of Product ($1,000) Percent of All Mass. Farmland
Greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture 170,133 34.73%
Fruit, tree nuts and berries 98,669 20.14%
Vegetables and melons 58,897 12.02%
Dairy cattle and milk production 54,153 11.06%
Other Crop Farming 36,491 7.00%

Reference: Fitzsimmons, J. (2019) Massachusetts Agricultural Census Data, 2017. Retrieved from https://ag.umass.edu/resources/massachusetts-agricultural-data.