Number of farms drops in U.S., stable in Kansas

? The National Agricultural Statistics Service says the number of farms in the U.S. dropped slightly last year and the amount of land used for farming continued to decline.

A report released Friday shows the nation had 2.18 million farms last year. That’s down from 2.19 million farms the previous year.

Meanwhile, the amount of land used for crops, pasture and grazing dwindled further to some 916.9 million acres. That is 1.85 million fewer acres than in 2010. The average U.S. farm size last year was 420 acres.

In Kansas, the numbers remained stable. Kansas had 65,500 farms in 2011, unchanged from 2010.

Some 46 million acres in Kansas were used for crops, pasture and grazing last year. That’s down from 46.1 million in 2010. Kansas farms averaged 702 acres.