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Agriculture and Land Use

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Note: Dollar values are adjusted for inflation to 2020 dollars.

Land in Agriculture in Rhode Island by County

The USDA Census of Agriculture is conducted every 5 years and provides foundational information on characteristics of agriculture in every county and state in the country. Back in 1920, Rhode Island had an estimated 331,600 acres in farmland. As of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, Rhode Island was estimated to have 59,076 acres in farmland, which is an increase from 56,864 in 2017. In 2022, Washington County accounted for 46.5% (27,496 acres, an increase from 19,866 acres in 2017) of land in agriculture, while Providence County made up about 22.1% (13,068 acres). Newport, Kent, and Bristol counties contain much smaller amounts of land in agriculture.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years. Note: data for Providence and Washington counties was suppressed in 2012; data for Bristol and Kent counties was suppressed in 2002.

Land in Agriculture in Rhode Island by Category

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Woodland is the largest category of agricultural land in Rhode Island: 27,595 acres (46.7%) of total in 2022. Woodland includes natural or planted woodlots or timber tracts, cutover and deforested land with young growth which has or will have value for wood products, and woodland pastured. It also includes land with tapped maple trees. Total cropland in Rhode Island equaled 16,665 acres (28.2%) in 2022, and is mostly hay and other forage, followed by vegetables, corn for animal feed, and fruit orchards.

Note: data is suppressed for some counties and categories for multiple years.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.

Projected Agricultural Land Conversion

The American Farmland Trust (AFT) has analyzed different land development scenarios for every state in the country. Under a Business as Usual scenario, AFT estimates that Rhode Island would loss about 8,100 acres of farmland between now and 2040 (new land development is depicted in red on the map).

According to the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture, Rhode Island had 56,864 acres of agriculture. An 8,100 acre decrease would mean a 14.2% decrease in available farmland.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.

Figure: Hunter, M., A. Sorensen, T. Nogeire-McRae, S. Beck, S. Shutts, R. Murphy. 2022. Farms Under Threat 2040: Choosing an Abundant Future. Washington, D.C.: American Farmland Trust.

Farm Real Estate Average Value per Acre

Rhode Island has the highest farm real estate values per acre of any state in the country at $17,500. Farm real estate value is a measurement of the value of all land and buildings on farms. The national average for 2022 was $3,800 per acre.

Rhode Island has the most expensive farm real estate values due to its small land area and development pressure.

Data sources: USDA NASS, Land Values Summary, multiple years.

Number of Farms in Rhode Island by County

The number of farms in Rhode Island has decreased 74% over the past 100 years, from 4,083 in 1920 when America was much more agrarian, to 1,054 in 2022 (an increase from 1,043 in 2017). Over the past 20 years, the number of farms in the state has averaged more than 1,000.

In 2022, Providence County accounted for 34.3% of farms (362), with an average farm size of 36 acres (the average size of a farm in the United States in 2022 was 463 acres). Washington County accounted for 30.7% of farms (324), with an average farm of 85 acres.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.

Number of Farms in Rhode Island by County and Category

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In 2022, the most prevalent types of farms in Rhode Island were vegetable and melon farms (28.6%, 302), greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture businesses (21.9%, 231), and poultry/egg farms (19,9%, 210). Note that many farms produce or raise many different types of crops and livestock. This count reflects the dominant activity that each farm is involved in.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.

Value of Agricultural Sales by County and Category

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According to the USDA Census of Agriculture, which is generally believed to undercount this measure, the value of agricultural sales increased 3%, from $90,390,757 in 2002, to $92,832,000 in 2022. Greenhouse, nursery, or floriculture sales made up the majority of agricultural sales over the past 20 years, including 55.3% ($51,317,000) in 2022. The second largest category was vegetable and melon sales at 15.6% ($14,516,000).

Washington County has the largest amount of farmland and accounted for 53.2% ($49,383,000) agricultural sales of Rhode Island counties in 2022.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.

Value of Edible Agricultural Sales by County and Category

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According to the USDA Census of Agriculture, which is generally believed to undercount this measure, edible agricultural products made up 42.4% ($39,388,000) of the total value of agricultural sales in 2022. Vegetables and melons made up the majority of edible agricultural product sales, followed by aquaculture products, fruits and berries, and cattle. Newport County actually accounted for the highest percentage of total edible product sales (14.6%), followed by Washington (13.8%), and Providence (11.8%) counties.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.

Number of Farms and Value of Agricultural Sales by Economic Class

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$50,000 in 2022, and these farms accounted for 8.4% ($7,795,000) of total sales. On the other end of the spectrum, 41 farms (3.9% of farms) had sales of $500,000 or more, and these farms accounted for 65.6% ($60,874,000) of total sales.

This scale asymmetry is endemic in every state and highlights the challenges of farm viability for small and midsize producers.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.

Estimating the Value of Rhode Island’s Food System

The USDA Census of Agriculture, conducted every 5 years, is the foundational data source for food system analyses. It allows for longitudinal, county-to-county, and state-to-state comparisons.

However, local research has found that the Census of Agriculture underestimates the value of food production. For example, the USDA estimate for sales in 2007 was $65.9 million ($81.3 million in 2020 dollars). Using a different approach, University of Rhode Island Professor Tom Sproul conservatively estimated that Rhode Island had agricultural sales of nearly $170.6 million in 2007, more than 2.5 times higher than the USDA estimate. A 2012 update estimated $238.9 million in sales, compared to $59.6 from the 2012 Census of Agriculture. Dr. Sproul’s estimates do match USDA estimates in the sense that greenhouse/nursery sales account for the majority of sales in his analysis.

Data sources: Dr. Thomas W. Sproul, February 1, 2015, The Economic Impact of Rhode Island Plant-Based Industries and Agriculture: An Update to the 2012 Study. USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.

URI Agricultural Sales Estimate

Dr. Tom Sproul estimates that the total value of Rhode Island agricultural sales in 2012 was $297 million (adjusted for inflation to 2020 dollars).

Greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture sales made up the biggest percentage, 41.3% ($122.7 million), followed by crop production, 23.7% ($70.3 million), animal production, 16.5% ($49.1 million), and smaller amounts of grape vineyards and aquaculture.

RI Food Data Discrepancies:
Available Information, Their Methodologies, and Differences

Data sources: Dr. Thomas W. Sproul, February 1, 2015, The Economic Impact of Rhode Island Plant-Based Industries and Agriculture: An Update to the 2012 Study.

Farmer Age Demographics

The average age of farmers in Rhode Island in 2022 was 56.6. This is lower than the average age of all U.S. farm producers, which was 58.1 years. There is a long-term trend of aging in the U.S. producer population.

At the same time, Rhode Island actually has the highest percentage of new and beginning farmers—farmers with 10 or fewer years of experience—of any state in the country: 41.4% (802 out of 1,938) in 2022.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.

Young Farmers

The USDA Census of Agriculture has started collecting data on young producers – farmers 35 years old or younger. In 2017, young producers (i.e., farm owners and operators) made up 7.4% of all producers, and operated 7.6% of all farms on 2.7% of all land in agriculture. In 2022, young producers (i.e., farm owners and operators) made up 9.7% of all producers, and operated 15.7% of all farms on 7.5% of all land in agriculture.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, 2017, Table 56: Young Producers.

Farmer Race Demographics

Colonization, genocide, slavery, and policies pursued by the U.S. government all played a role in the dismantling of Indigenous societies and limited access to agricultural land for non-White people. Today, Black, Indigenous, Asian, and Hispanic Americans own a very small percentage of farms and agricultural land.

Farm ownership in both the state and the country continues to be a mostly White-owned enterprise: White people make up 60% of our country’s population, but comprise 92% of producers, own 96% of farms, and operate 94% of land in agriculture. As of July 2022, 69.9% of Rhode Islanders were White (not Hispanic), but 97.2% of Rhode Island farmers were White. Black Americans make up 9.1% of Rhode Island’s population, but only 1.0% of farmers.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.

Farmer Demographics by Hispanic Ethnicity

Hispanic Rhode Islanders–the state’s largest ethnic group–make up 17.6% of the state’s population, but make only 1.7% of farmers.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.

Farmer Sex Demographics

Women make up 51% of Rhode Island’s population but 42.9% (832) of farmers. This percentage does represent an increase from 35% (659) of farmers in 2007.

Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.