A Fox Business segment summed up a new federal report showing that thousands of American farms disappeared in a single year.
According to the segment, “The number of U.S. farms shrank by 15,000 in 2025.”
That drop brings the total number of farms in the United States down to 1.865 million.
Fox Business correspondent Ashley Webster told host Stuart Varney, “Those stats are shocking, Stu.”
The figures come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual Land in Farms report.
Pro Farmer reported that USDA data showed farm numbers falling again last year, continuing what analysts describe as a multiyear slide.
While 1.865 million farms may still sound like a large number, the hosts made clear that this is part of a broader pattern.
Citing the American Farm Bureau Federation, the report described the losses as “part of a long-lasting decline.”
Webster added, “We’ve seen it year after year, while farm bankruptcies, by the way, are on the rise.”
Economic Pressure And Negative Returns
The segment pointed to several forces weighing on farms, including urbanization and weak financial returns.
USDA data show that total land in farms declined to 873.95 million acres in 2025, down 0.3% from the prior year.
Since 2018, the amount of land in farms has steadily fallen, while the average farm size has increased from 444 acres to 469 acres.
That combination, fewer farms and larger average size, underscores a consolidation trend already reshaping rural America.
Even more concerning is profitability. Low or negative returns per acre, particularly in row crops, have added to the strain.
Rising input costs, weak commodity prices, and higher interest rates have squeezed margins.
According to AgWeb, “the U.S. ag economy enters 2026 in a clear crop-sector recession.”
The report added that “high input costs, weak prices, policy uncertainty, and eroding trust in data have pushed many producers from planning for profitability into fighting for survival.”
On the state of the economy, AgWeb reported, “76% of economists say the U.S. crop sector is in a recession. 74% of producers agree.”
More than 76% of economists said conditions are worse than a year ago.
Bankruptcy filings appear to reflect that strain. While the Fox segment did not provide specific figures, it made clear that “farm bankruptcies, by the way, are on the rise.”
Losses Across The Country
The decline was not limited to one region.
“The largest decline at the state level was Texas,” the segment reported, noting that the state lost 2,000 farm operations.
Texas still has the highest number of farms in the country at 229,000, far more than any other state.
In the Midwest, Illinois lost 400 farms, bringing its total to 69,600. Iowa lost 500 farms to 86,200.
Indiana dropped by 500 to 51,500. Nebraska fell by 200 to 44,100. Minnesota saw what Webster described as “a whopping 1,300” farms disappear, leaving 64,000.
No state reported an increase in farm numbers.
The data also showed sharp differences by farm income level.
“The numbers show that the number of farms decreased in every economic category except for farms that make $1 million or more in sales each year, which actually saw a minor increase of 50 farms,” Webster added.
Pro Farmer reported that farms making between $1,000 and $9,999 in annual sales posted the largest loss, falling by 8,000 operations.
That split highlights a widening divide. Larger, high-revenue farms appear to be expanding or consolidating, while smaller farms continue to shut down.
Dairy And Consolidation Pressures
The trend is especially visible in dairy.
Wisconsin Public Radio reported that the state had about 5,100 licensed dairy herds at the start of 2026, just over half the number from 10 years ago and roughly a third of the number from two decades ago.
Yet the number of cows being milked has stayed about the same, and overall milk production has increased slightly.
Steven Deller, an agricultural and applied economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, pointed to consolidation and rising costs as major drivers.
“If you’re in your mid-60s, it just doesn’t make sense to be operating a dairy farm with 150 cows,” he said.
“That’s demanding work, that’s really hard labor, and you hit a certain point where you just say, ‘I can’t do this anymore.'”
Economists expect that environment to accelerate consolidation further.
AgWeb reported that 72% of economists, 67% of producers, and 80% of retailers believe the current climate will increase consolidation in row crop operations.
A Grim Picture For Rural America
Taken together, the numbers paint a troubling picture for rural communities.
“But anyway you look at it or try to paint it, it’s a pretty grim picture, Stu,” Webster concluded.
Fewer farms can result in fewer local businesses, fewer jobs, and less economic activity in small towns.
As land shifts into larger operations, family-owned farms become less common.
The steady decline in farm numbers, from just over 2.02 million in 2018 to 1.865 million in 2025, shows how persistent the shift has been.
With bankruptcies rising and much of the crop sector in recession, the pressures do not appear to be easing.
For many viewers, the most striking takeaway may have been the network’s own framing.
After a year in which 15,000 farms closed, the reaction on air was unmistakable: “Those stats are shocking, Stu.”