Ag Facts

Of the more than 2,000 nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) counties in 2000, 420 were farming-dependent, down from 618 in 1990. Economic Research Service classified a county as farming-dependent if 15 percent or more of earnings (in 1998-2000) or employment (in 2000) came from farming

Although the overall metro economy depends on farming for less than one percent of earnings, 40 percent of all farm operators are located in metro counties, and they account for 42 percent of U.S. farm cash receipts.

SOURCE: Amber Waves, June 2004, One in Five Rural Counties Depends on Farming, Linda Ghelfi and David McGranahan