Massachusetts Agriculture 



Robert L. Christensen and N. Eugene Engel 



Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts 



In 1991, Massachusetts farmers sold $474 mil- 

 lion of crop and livestock products, ranking forty- 

 second out of fifty states. Massachusetts ranked 

 number one, however, in cranberry production, 

 number twelve in apple production, and number 

 seventeen in greenhouse/nursery crop production. 

 Table 1 reports the annual cash receipts of selected 

 commodities in Massachusetts. 



According to the U.S. Census, the estimated 

 number of farms in Massachusetts increased from 

 5,400 in 1974 to 6900 in 1991. Table 2 gives the 

 number of farms by county in 1982 and 1987, and 

 Table 3 gives the acreage by county. Approximately 

 615,000 acres of land are used by Massachusetts 

 farms. The average size of a farm is 100 acres, as 

 compared to the U.S. average of 467 acres. Average 



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Fruit Notes, Summer, 1993 



