The 2017 U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture (2017 Ag Census) collected information about producers with military service for the first time. According to the USDA, a producer with military service is defined as a producer who “currently or previously served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces” (2017 Ag Census). With the information collected, the 2017 Ag Census revealed 370,619 producers that have served in or are currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
This group of producers accounted for 11% of the total producers in the United States. On a national scale, they operated farms and ranches on 128,144,965 acres of land and were mainly concentrated in the southeastern portion of the United States.
This document highlights information related to producers that have served or are currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. It reports on producer characteristics, farm operation characteristics and decision-making.
According to the Ag Census, 4,167 producers (95%) were male, while only 178 producers (5%) were female. This indicates that approximately seven-eighths of producers with military service in Louisiana are male, while about one-eighth of these producers are female. This closely matches the composition of the U.S. Armed Forces, which was composed of 16% women and 84% men in 2016 and 2017 (Reynolds and Shendruk, 2018). According to the Ag Census, 351,647 producers (95%) with military identified themselves as male, while 18,972 producers (5%) identified as female.
Parish Data. In Louisiana, Vermilion, St. Landry, Beauregard, Calcasieu, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes have the largest number of producers who are currently serving or have previously served in the U.S. Armed Forces with 225, 194, 192, 182, 175 and 167 producers, respectively. On the other hand, Assumption, St. Bernard, West Baton Rouge, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary, and St. James parishes have the smallest concentration of producers with a military background.
Of the 4,751 producers with a military background, 4,115 (approximately 87%) were white. Black or African American producers made up the second-largest group of producers with military service, with 557 (approximately 12%) producers. Producers with Hispanic, Spanish or Latino origins made up the third-largest category of producers with military service. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander producers with military service and Asian producers with military service had extremely small concentrations in Louisiana with 0 and 5 producers, respectively. The order of the groups matches the state race and ethnicity profile of producers (Table 1).
Table 1. Louisiana Producers With Military Service Race/Ethnicity Decomposition
Race/Ethnicity | Any Producer | Percentage of Producers |
White | 4,115 | 86.61% |
Black or African American | 557 | 11.72% |
Hispanic, Spanish or Latino | 84 | 1.77% |
More than one race reported | 41 | 0.86% |
American Indian or Native American | 33 | 0.69% |
Asian | 5 | 0.11% |
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 | 0.00% |
Source: USDA NASS 2017 Census of Agriculture
Experience. Most veteran producers are experienced farmers and ranchers. In 2017, 3,680 (77%) had 11 years or more of farming and/or ranching experience. Approximately 1,100 producers have only operated farms and/or ranches for 10 years or fewer (Table 2).
Table 2. Louisiana Producers With Military Service
Experience | Any Producer | Percentage |
5 years or less | 549 | 11.56% |
6 to 10 years | 522 | 10.99% |
11 years or more |
3,680 | 77.46% |
Source: USDA NASS 2017 Census of Agriculture
Experience. Most veteran producers are experienced farmers and ranchers. In 2017, 3,680 (77%) had 11 years or more of farming and/or ranching experience. Approximately 1,100 producers have only operated farms and/or ranches for 10 years or fewer (Table 2).
Labor. In Louisiana, 2,311 producers with military service listed farming as their primary occupation. This indicates that 2,311 producers (49%) that served or are currently serving in the military spend at least half of their time doing farm and/or ranch work. On the other hand, 2,440 producers (51%) with a military background have listed some occupation other than farming as their primary source of income.
Decision-Making. The Ag Census collected information on decision-making on the farm. Table 3 presents information on the types of decisions producers undertake in their operations. “Day-to-day decisions” and “Land use and/or crop decisions” were the categories with the highest concentrations. “Estate planning or succession planning” was the category with the lowest concentration. These concentrations mirror the concentrations of the overall population surveyed.
Table 3. Louisiana Producers With Military Service Decision-Making
Type of Decision | Any Producer | Percentages |
Day-to-day decisions | 4,344 | 91.43% |
Land use and/or crop decisions | 3,695 | 77.77% |
Livestock decisions | 3,347 | 70.45% |
Record keeping and/or financial management | 3,505 | 73.77% |
Estate planning or succession planning | 2,620 | 55.15% |
Source: USDA NASS 2017 Census of Agriculture
Farm Specialization. In 2017, most producers with a military background operated beef cattle ranching and farming establishments. There were 1,923 farms in the state that focused on beef cattle production. Sugarcane, hay and crop farming had the second-highest concentration of producers in this group with 1,080 farms located throughout Louisiana. Aquaculture and small-animal production was another type of popular farming operation among producers with military service, with 675 farms.
Farm Size. There were 4,538 farms operated by producers that have served or are currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces on 959,896 acres of land. These farms varied greatly in size from 1 to over 500 acres. The largest concentration of these producers operated farms between 10 and 179 acres, with 66% of farms falling within this range. Few (8.4%) veteran farming operations have 500 acres or more (Table 4).
Table 4. Average Farm Size Operated by Louisiana Producers With Military Service
Farm Size | Any Producer | Percentages |
1 to 9 acres | 608 | 13.40% |
10 to 49 acres | 1,596 | 35.17% |
50 to 179 acres | 1,397 | 30.78% |
180 to 499 acres | 557 | 12.27% |
500 acres or more | 380 | 8.37% |
Source: USDA NASS 2017 Census of Agriculture
Economic Class. Economic class classifies farms by summing the market value of agricultural products that a farm sells and the amount of federal farm program payments that a farm receives. Most farms operated by producers with military service were classified into economic classes of less than $1,000 in 2017, with 1,344 farms. There was a relatively even distribution of farms in economic classes between $1,000 and $25,000 (Table 5).
Table 5. Louisiana Producers With Military Service Farm Economic Class
Economic Class | Any Producer | Percentage |
Less than $1,000 | 1,344 | 29.62% |
$1,000 to $2,499 | 638 | 14.06% |
$2,500 to $4,999 | 583 | 12.85% |
$5,000 to $9,999 | 652 | 14.37% |
$10,000 to $24,999 | 536 | 11.81% |
$25,000 to $49,999 | 280 | 6.17% |
$50,000 or more | 505 | 11.13% |
Source: USDA NASS 2017 Census of Agriculture