Small farms in Tennessee decrease

“We really don’t have a reason why they’re down,” said Joel Moore, deputy statistician with the Tennessee Agricultural Statistics Service. “But the majority are part-time operators, and it really doesn’t take a lot to qualify (as a farm). You can have one or two head of cattle one year and not have them the next.”

All of the farms lost produced $1,000 to $9,900 worth of agricultural products and represent a small portion of the state’s total agricultural output, officials said.

With the decrease, the state still has about 87,000 farms, statistics show.

Moore said the number of Tennessee farms in the top sales categories, such as $500,000 and above, has remained stable the last four years.

Only farms in the lower sales categories have declined, often as farmers age and leave the business.

“We have seen the trend of farmers getting older and retiring, but keeping some head (of cattle), and then they give them away,” he said. “Those who have been brought up on farms try to keep that tradition.”

In Marion County, farmer Dan Prigmore said he has scaled down in his golden years. Prigmore has grown row crops and raised hogs and cattle since 1952. Now, at age 74, he said, “I’ve just about quit.”

Some county agricultural agents say the loss of any farm, no matter what the size, has an impact in rural communities.

“Yes, they are important, especially when you’re talking about money involved,” said Sequatchie County extension agent Sheldon Barker. “If you lose one or two farms, it starts making a dent.”