2022 Hawaiʻi Ag Census

NASS, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, has disseminated the results of its 2022 Census of Agriculture, including profiles of Hawaiʻi farmers and agriculture.

The data – collected directly from producers – shows a decline in the total number of Hawaiʻi farms and land in farms. However, the data also show an increase in the value of agriculture sales across the state.

Key trends for Hawaiʻi highlighted in the report, per Tessie Amore of the Dept. of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, include:

• Hawaiʻi’s total number of farms decreased to 6,569, down 10% from 2017.
• Total land in farms decreased to 1.053 million acres, down from 1.135 million acres.
• Market value of agricultural products totaled $673.8 million, up 20% from 2017. This increase came mainly from the higher value of crop sales.
• Average sales per farm increased in all counties. Honolulu County led with an average sales total of $192K per farm, followed by Kauaʻi County, then Hawaiʻi and Maui.
• The Aloha state leads the U.S. in macadamia nut, papaya, taro, banana, coffee, and ginger root acreage.
• At 2,259 farms, more than one-third of Hawaiʻi farms have renewable energy-producing systems, with solar panels being the most common.
• The average age of Hawaiʻi producers was 60.7, up 0.6 years from 2017. This is a smaller increase than average age increases between prior censuses.
• The number of female producers increased to 5,094 and accounted for 43% of all Hawaiʻi producers. Sixty eight percent of all Hawaiʻi farms had at least one female decision maker.

“The census gives a profile of CTAHR’s stakeholders in the state of Hawaiʻi, in comparison with the nation,” says Tessie. “Note that Hawaiʻi’s response rate (57%) was slightly less than the national average (61%), highlighting the need of our stakeholders to participate in the census.”

Read the full 2022 Census of Agriculture.