While the number of farms across the nation shrank significantly in 2012, New York farmers held their ground, the U. S. Department of Agriculture said.

In 2012, an estimated 36,000 farms operated in New York state, the same as in 2011, according to a report issued this week by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Office. About 7 million acres of land were used for agriculture in 2012, largely unchanged from 2011.

In contrast, the nation lost nearly 12,000 farms and 3 million acres of farmland in 2012 compared to 2011.

"Overall, New York farmers held their own in a year that saw higher production costs and some tough weather conditions," said Steve Ammerman, spokesman for the New York Farm Bureau. "There are many opportunities for growth in New York agriculture, and we hope to continue to buck the national trend through the hard work and efficiency of the state's farmers and reasonable public policy that allows farms to prosper."

The report also showed that small farms in the state have had significant growth.

New York had 11,300 farms with sales between $10,000 and $99,999 in 2012, up by nearly 5 percent from 10,800 a year earlier. Land they operated totaled 1.9 million acres.

Farms with sales between $100,000 and $249,000 also increased by 300 to 3,500 compared to 2011.

The state did lose some of its smallest farmers, though – at 18,000 farms, the state has 900 fewer farms with sales between $1,000 and $9,999 than it did in 2011.

While the report was positive news, more steps need to be taken to keep the farms New York already has and to encourage more people to take up farming, said David Haight, New York state director for American Farmland Trust.

"We know that we have far less farmland in New York than we did 10, 20, 30 years ago. We need to not just stop losing farmland, but begin bringing more people back into farming," Haight said. "I don't think it's time to take our foot off the gas."

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