Farming continues to drive North Dakota’s economy
Farming continues to drive North Dakota’s economy
By MARVIN BAKER
EDITOR
It’s no secret that farming and ranching drives North Dakota’s economy, but what might surprise some people is that the number of farms is on the rise in the state despite a stagnant population.
Census figures estimate 32,000 farms operating in North Dakota in 2008, which hasn’t increased in the past year, but is up 1,000 farms since 2000.
A farm or ranch is defined as an establishment from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were sold or would normally be sold during the year, according to Darin Jantzi director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) North Dakota Field Office.
“Farm numbers and land in farms are broken down into five economic sales classes,” Jantzi said. “Farms and ranches are
