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Land in Agriculture in Rhode Island by County
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
This chart has an interactive menu!
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Note: data is suppressed for some counties and categories for multiple years.
Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.
Projected Agricultural Land Conversion

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 most expensive farm real estate values due to its small land area and development pressure.
Number of Farms in Rhode Island by County
In 2017, Providence County accounted for 36% of farms (377), with an average farm size of 43 acres (the average size of a farm in the United States in 2017 was 441 acres). The average farm size in Washington County was 62 acres, while average farm size in Kent County was 87 acres.
Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.
Number of Farms in Rhode Island by County and Category
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As a practical matter, aquaculture farms are unlikely to be based in Providence County, but their mailing addresses and/or ownership may be based in that county.
Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.
Value of Agricultural Sales by County and Category
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Washington County has the highest amount of farmland and agricultural sales of Rhode Island counties.
Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.
Value of Edible Agricultural Sales by County and Category
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Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.
Number of Farms and Value of Agricultural Sales by Economic Class
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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
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.
URI Agricultural Sales Estimate
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
Farmer Age Demographics
This is close to the average age of all U.S. farm producers in 2017, which was 57.5 years – up 1.2 years from 2012. There is a long-term trend of aging in the U.S. producer population.
This means that producers also tend to be experienced; they have been on their current farm an average of 21.3 years. It also means that they are more likely to be thinking about retiring, which sometimes puts their land in danger of being developed.
Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.
Young Principal Producers, 2017
Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, 2017, Table 56: Young Producers.
Farmer Race Demographics
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 2021, 70.4% of Rhode Islanders were White (not Hispanic), but 98% of Rhode Island farmers were White…
Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.
Farmer Demographics by Hispanic Ethnicity
Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.
Farmer Sex Demographics
Data sources: USDA Census of Agriculture, multiple years.