Farmland

More than seven percent of the state's farmland is located in Bristol County totaling 36,085 acres on 624 farms.

Economics & Employment

• Bristol County farms sold more than $29 million worth of agricultural products in 2002, six percent of the state's total.
• 827 workers are employed on 114 farms in Bristol County. Some 292 of those workers worked on farms 150 days or more during the year.
• Bristol County farms paid more than $6.7 million in wages to workers in 1997.
• Almost 56 percent of Bristol County farm operators report farming as their principle occupation. The remainder report principle occupations off the farm.
• The average Bristol County farmer is 54.9 years old and has operated his or her farm for 20 years.
• Women are the principle operators on 66 farms and 3,388 acres in Bristol County.
• The vast majority of Bristol County farms are family owned and operated, including sole proprietorships, partnerships and family-held corporations.

Crops

• The majority of agricultural sales in 2002 were nursery and greenhouse crops.
• Other major agricultural products were dairy, vegetables and fruits and berries.

National Rank

• Bristol County ranks 30th among all U.S. counties for direct sales of farm products to consumers.
• Massachusetts ranks second in the nation in cranberry production.

Sources: Sources: New England Agricultural Statistics, 2006; and U.S. Census of Agriculture, 2002
Compiled by: Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, 251 Causeway Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02114, 617-626-1700, www.mass.gov/agr.