The number of U.S. swine operations in 2011 totaled 69,100, unchanged from 2010, according to USDA’s recently released report, “Farms, Land in Farms and Livestock Operations 2011 Summary.” Operations with 2,000 or more head accounted for 87% of the inventory. Operations with 2,000 or more swine totaled 8,800, while those with 1,000 to 1,999 animals totaled 3,400 head.
The number of operations with cattle totaled 922,000 for 2011, down 1% from 2010. The number of milk cow operations totaled 60,000, down 4% from 2010. The report estimated there were 2.2 million farms in the United States, down slightly from 2010. The total land in farms was estimated at 917 million, a decrease of 1.85 million acres from 2010. The average farm size is 410 acres.