Farm numbers dip slightly while income plunges
Three years after the collapse of commodity prices, there are only slightly fewer farms in the United States than when the seven-year boom peaked and farm income was record high, according to USDA data. The government estimated there were 2.06 million farms in 2016, down 2 percent from 2013, the same period in which net farm income, a gauge of solvency, plummeted 46 percent.