×

FARMING County bucks trends for industry

It was a pleasant surprise to see family farms holding steady in Chautauqua County.

That certainly wasn’t expected when the state’s performance in the Census of Agriculture was released. The census is done every five years, and the 2022 census released recently showed a loss of more than 2,800 farms covering 364,000 acres of farmland over the past five years in New York state. Dairy farms took the brunt of the loss, seeing a decrease of nearly 1,900 farms. Other industries taking a hit include vegetable, berry and organic farms.

Chautauqua County was different.

The number of family farms seen in Chautauqua County in 2022 increased by 63 over the past five years to 1,291, though dairy farms did decrease by 72 to 109. But, the number of milk cows in the county is similar over the past five years, with only 260 fewer dairy cows now than five years ago. There has also been an increase in the number of farms with beef cows, rising from 247 to 279, which Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County officials say is because some dairy farms are now raising beef cows and diversifying their operations because it’s so hard to operate dairy farms on a small scale. A final bit of good news can be found in farm acreage in the county increasing from 223,634 to 229,885. Even better, Cornell Cooperative Extension officials see an increase in young farmers and homesteaders in the county – meaning there is a new generation of farmers interested in continuing our agricultural traditions.

That isn’t luck. A lot of hard work has gone into preserving agriculture as part of our economy. That hard work has to continue. Agriculture tends to be forgotten sometimes when we talk about development — and it shouldn’t be. We need to make sure we’re working as hard to preserve and build our agriculture industry as we do attracting and keeping any other major employer.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $2.99/week.

Subscribe Today