Gitnux/Report 2026

Agri Industry Statistics

The global agriculture value-added total reached $4.2 trillion in 2024, explore the agri figures on growth, companies, and trends.
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12Sections
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November 11, 2026Updated
Agri Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Before any source is gathered, an editor locks the question, what qualifies, and how the piece will be judged.

02Source Research

Search agents collect the source set and pull each data point out with its provenance attached.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The agri industry at a glance

Global agriculture generated $4.2 trillion in value added in 2024, with output expanding across crops and livestock despite tighter land, climate and trade constraints. Market growth in cereals is projected at about 1.1% annually through 2034 to 3.2 billion tonnes, driven mainly by yield improvements.

$4.2T[18]
Global value added, 2024
3.1 Gt[18]
Global cereal production, 2024
374 Mt[18]
Global meat production, 2024
85%[18]
Top two soy and palm exporters, 2024
Market size
Global agricultural value added reached $4.2 trillion in 2024, up 3.1% from $4.1 trillion in 2023. In constant 2014–2016 dollars, gross agricultural production was about $4.59 trillion in 2024.[18][88]
Forecast & CAGR
The OECD–FAO projects global cereal production to grow by about 1.1% annually through 2034, reaching 3.2 billion tonnes. Growth is expected to rely mainly on yield improvements rather than major land expansion.[3]
Market share & regions
Asia accounted for approximately $2.74 trillion of global agricultural production value in 2024, ahead of the Americas at $874 billion, Europe at $523 billion and Africa at $388 billion. Asia therefore represented roughly 60% of the global total on the same constant-dollar basis.[88]
Segmentation
Cereals reached 3.1 billion tonnes in 2024, oil crops 1.2 billion tonnes and sugar crops 2.2 billion tonnes. Livestock output included 374 million tonnes of meat, 985 million tonnes of milk and 100 million tonnes of eggs.[18]
Key players & concentration
Agricultural production is geographically broad, but trade in major commodities is concentrated: the two largest exporters supplied about 85% of global soybean exports and about 85% of palm-oil exports in 2024. In the EU, farms of at least 250 hectares represented only 0.8% of holdings but managed 29.0% of utilised agricultural area in 2023.[18][5]
Pricing
The FAO Food Price Index averaged 127.2 points in 2025, 4.3% above its 2024 average. In October 2026, the index averaged 133.9 points, 5.9% above October 2025 but 16.4% below its March 2022 peak.[18]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Global agricultural land reached 4.6 billion hectares in 2024, while land equipped for irrigation reached 351 million hectares, about 22% of cropland. Cropland expansion accounted for about 72% of forest-land loss, highlighting the sector’s continuing land-use and sustainability challenge.[18]
Consumer behavior & competition
Food commodities represented 86% of global trade in crop and livestock products in 2024, while growing feed demand supported trade in feed crops and processed feed. Asia’s agricultural trade deficit has widened over time as China and India increasingly rely on imports to meet food and feed demand.[18]
Regulation
EU farm-structure statistics are collected under Regulation (EU) 2018/1091, which establishes the framework for agricultural-holding surveys and coverage thresholds. The EU’s 2023 farm survey covered 8.8 million agricultural holdings, with 62.8% smaller than five hectares.[5]
Latest news
FAO’s latest 2026 land release reported that global agricultural land reached 4.6 billion hectares in 2024 and organic agriculture covered 121 million hectares, more than five times the 2004 area. FAO’s October 2026 food-price update reported a 133.9-point Food Price Index, with sugar prices at their highest level since December 2024.[18]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Agri Industry

The leading companies in the agri industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 10, 2026 · Next review December 10, 2026

Verdict

Cargill stands out for global agricultural commodities and food supply because it provides food and agricultural solutions across global supply chains, while Bunge is the pick for oilseeds processing and grain merchandising since it processes oilseeds and merchandises grains across major agricultural regions with a 2.2% operating margin.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in agricultural commodities

    Cargill

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.5 · Agricultural commodities

    Why we picked it: Its global agricultural commodities and food focus is tied to supplying across worldwide supply chains.

    See in ranking ↓Visit cargill.com ↗

  2. Leader in oilseeds & grains processing

    Bunge

    US

    Ranked #2 · 9.5 · Oilseeds & grains processing

    Why we picked it: Its oilseeds processing and grain merchandising segment is reflected in an operating margin of 2.2% and revenue growth of 32.5%.

    See in ranking ↓Visit bunge.com ↗

  3. Leader in crop nutrition & fertilizers

    Yara

    NO

    Ranked #3 · 9.0 · Crop nutrition & fertilizers

    Why we picked it: Crop nutrition and nitrogen fertilizers for more than 140 markets are supported by an operating margin of 10% and R&D at 0.6% of revenue.

    See in ranking ↓Visit yara.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the agri industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Cargill

Agricultural commodities · US

9.5
2

Bunge

Oilseeds & grains processing · US

9.5
3

Yara

Crop nutrition & fertilizers · NO

9.0
4

Olam Agri

Agricultural origins trading · SG

9.0
5

Corteva Agriscience

Farm inputs products · US

9.0
6

Louis Dreyfus Company

Global agricultural merchandising and processing · NL

9.0
7

Nutrien

Fertilizers, crop inputs and agricultural retail · CA

8.8
8

Bayer

Seeds, traits and crop protection · DE

8.5
9

John Deere

Agricultural machinery and precision farming · US

8.3
10

Kubota

Compact tractors and agricultural machinery · JP

8.2

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 10, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Top 10 companies in the agri industry. In Agri Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/agri-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Projection

U.S. corn grain production

U.S. corn grain production grew from 14.1 billion bushels in 2020 to 14.9 billion bushels in 2024.

14.1 billion bushels
Start
+1.39%
CAGR · 4y
14.9 billion bushels
Projected
20202024
source-verifiednass.usda.gov2024

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

Digital adoption appears uneven, with 27% of UK farmers familiar with agricultural AI using it in 2025 and 45% of EU agri-food companies getting AI via external service providers in 2024.

AI in the agri industry

  • 27% of UK farmers familiar with agricultural artificial intelligence said they had used it on their farms in a 2025 survey.[1]
  • 45% of EU agri-food companies using artificial intelligence obtained it through external service providers in 2024.[2]
  • 5.0% of German farms surveyed in 2024–2025 used artificial intelligence or big-data technologies.[3]
  • 19% of EU agri-food companies used artificial intelligence in design and planning activities in 2024.[2]
  • 13% of EU agri-food businesses using artificial intelligence had already used it for five years by 2024.[2]
  • 28% of EU agri-food companies using artificial intelligence reported that their provider was based in the United States in 2024.[2]

Automation in the agri industry

  • 14,000 milking robots were estimated to be operating on French farms in 2023.[4]
  • 1% of EU farms with less than EUR2,000 of economic output used robotics in 2023.[5]
  • 11% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem adopted robotics in 2023.[2]
  • 45% of large-scale US crop-producing farms used variable-rate technology in 2023.[6]
  • 20% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem adopted robotics in 2024.[2]
  • 52% of midsize US crop-producing farms used guidance autosteering systems in 2023.[6]

Digital Transformation in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 3.4% had very high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 2.1% in 2021.[2]
  • Across the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem, 20% of companies had a concrete digital-transformation strategy in 2024.[2]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 15.4% had high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 13.0% in 2021.[2]
  • In the United States, 61% of farmers reported adopting digital agronomy technologies in 2024.[7]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 51.2% had very low digital intensity in 2023, down from 55.1% in 2021.[2]

Technology Adoption in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • In Chile, 12% of agricultural production units reported using a technological tool such as mobile applications, drones, or sensors in 2021.[3]
  • In Czechia, 30% of crop-production farmers used at least one precision-agriculture technology in 2023.[3]
  • In Canada, 84% of field-crop operations used GPS equipment in 2021.[3]
  • Across EU farms, 43% had internet access, 11% used farm-management information systems, and 7% used robotics in 2023.[3]
  • Across EU farms with utilised agricultural area, about 18% used some form of precision-farming technology or practice in 2023.[3]
  • In Germany, 85.5% of surveyed farms used at least one digital technology in 2024–2025.[3]

Cloud Computing in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 37% used cloud computing in 2024, up from 26% in 2023.[2]
  • Among EU large businesses, 78% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023, compared with 44% of SMEs.[5]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 26% used cloud computing in 2023.[2]
  • Across EU businesses, 45% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023.[5]

Big Data in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 307 startups focused on artificial intelligence and big data were formed between 2015 and 2023.[2]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 13% used big-data technologies in 2024, compared with 17% in 2023.[2]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 17% used big-data technologies in 2023.[2]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data governance and trust shape adoption: 69% of food and beverage companies relied on spreadsheets and email for core operations in 2025.

Business intelligence in the agri industry

  • 30% of bottom-quartile-performing English farms undertook no business-management practices in 2024/25, versus just over 10% in each higher performance band.[8]
  • 42% of English farms used Farm Business Survey benchmarking in 2024/25.[8]
  • 52% of very large English farms regularly produced financial accounts in 2024/25, compared with 24% of small farms.[8]
  • 57% of English farm businesses produced an informal business-management plan in 2024/25.[8]
  • 92% of English farms accessed business-management advice in 2024/25.[8]
  • 13% of English farms used benchmarking tools other than Farm Business Survey benchmarking in 2024/25.[8]

Data analytics in the agri industry

  • 15% of agribusinesses based 76% to 100% of organizational decisions on data analytics in a Purdue survey.[9]
  • 2% of agricultural supply-chain respondents said their organization did not use data to make decisions.[10]
  • 2% of agribusinesses reported that none of their organizational decisions were based on data analytics in a Purdue survey.[9]
  • 51% of agricultural supply-chain respondents said most company decisions were based on data analytics in the cited survey.[10]
  • 93% of surveyed U.S. Midwest farmers used at least one digital agricultural technology in the cited study.[11]
  • 46.8% of surveyed dairy farmers used manual data integration on the farm.[12]

Data Quality in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 30% of manufacturing respondents identified poor-quality data as one of their top three challenges when working with AI-related data in 2024.[13]
  • 41% of manufacturers said they distrusted the data used for supply-chain operations in 2025, reflecting persistent data-quality concerns in production and procurement.[14]
  • 49% of manufacturing respondents rated their operational data as having low AI readiness in 2024, meaning it was insufficiently labeled, contextualized, governed or accessible.[13]
  • 44% of manufacturers reported that AI projects had failed because of poor data quality in 2025, according to a survey of manufacturing organizations.[14]
  • 42% of manufacturers reported having a process to verify operational data accuracy or quality in 2025, indicating that most lacked a formal validation process.[13]

Data Governance in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 69% of food and beverage companies still relied on spreadsheets and email for core operations in 2025, limiting standardized access and control of business data.[15]
  • 61% of manufacturers reported having a corporate-wide governance plan, strategy or formal guidelines for how data is collected, organized, accessed and used in 2024.[13]
  • 40% of food and beverage professionals worldwide identified disconnected systems and data as their biggest barrier to moving faster in 2026.[15]
  • 6% of food and beverage leaders reported fully integrated digital systems in 2025, despite 82% saying technology adoption was a strategic priority.[15]
  • 15% of manufacturers said their data strategy was entirely aligned with their overall business strategy in 2024, while 31% said it was very closely aligned.[13]
  • 61% of supply-management organizations reported having a dedicated data-governance function in 2024, while 90% agreed that data governance was necessary.[16]

KPIs in the agri industry

  • 40% of English farms had Farm Business Income of at least £50,000 in 2024/25.[8]
  • 38% of Great Britain farms had Farm Business Income of at least £50,000 in 2024/25.[8]
  • 71.2% of surveyed dairy farmers checked and compared their results with other farmers through benchmarking at least quarterly.[12]
  • £67,000 was the average Farm Business Income per Great Britain farm in 2024/25.[8]
  • £71,000 was the average Farm Business Income per English farm in 2024/25.[8]
  • 69% of surveyed western Canadian ranchers tracked conception rates as a herd-performance measure.[17]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Value-added growth remains positive, with global agricultural value added growing 3.1% from 2023 to 2024 to USD 4.2 trillion.

Growth in the agri industry

  • 3.1% was the growth in global agricultural value added from 2023 to 2024, reaching USD 4.2 trillion worldwide.[18]
  • 3.1% was the increase in EU27 agriculture’s gross value added in 2024, reaching EUR 228.6 billion.[5]
  • 3.6% was agricultural value-added growth in Asia in 2024.[18]
  • 3.4% was agricultural value-added growth in the Americas in 2024.[18]
  • 10.4% was India’s agriculture and allied-sector GVA growth at current prices in 2024–25.[19]
  • 6.4% was agricultural value-added growth in Oceania in 2024.[18]

Differentiation in the agri industry

  • 51% of surveyed U.S. producers reported using financial ratios to inform farm decisions in 2023.[9]
  • 61% of surveyed U.S. producers reported using written crop-lease agreements in 2023.[9]
  • 69% of U.S. commercial producers had adopted yield monitors in a 2023 precision-agriculture survey.[9]
  • 10 percentage points was the increase in agtech adoption in Latin America from 2022 to 2024.[7]
  • Less than 75% of surveyed U.S. commercial producers had adopted at least one listed precision-agriculture technology in 2023.[9]
  • 45% was the greater likelihood that U.S. farms larger than 2,500 acres adopted agtech compared with farms smaller than 100 acres.[7]

Mergers and acquisitions in the agri industry

  • 17 agriculture-sector mega-deals valued above USD 1 billion were recorded globally in 2024.[20]
  • 9 North American agronomy M&A transactions involved agricultural retail distribution in 2024.[21]
  • 21 reported agronomy M&A transactions occurred in North America in 2020.[21]
  • 6% was the decline in global agriculture-sector M&A deal volume in 2024 compared with 2023.[20]
  • USD 50.76 billion was the value of agricultural-products-and-services M&A deals recorded globally in 2023.[22]
  • 977 agriculture-sector M&A deals were recorded globally in 2024.[20]

Strategic partnerships in the agri industry

  • 29 private-sector partnerships in FAO’s 2024 report used memoranda of understanding.[23]
  • 2 new academia and research-institution partnerships were signed by FAO in 2024.[23]
  • 24% of FAO partnerships in 2024 contributed to the Better Environment objective.[23]
  • 61% of FAO academia and research-institution partnerships in 2024 used memoranda of understanding.[23]
  • 29% of FAO partnerships in 2024 contributed to the organization’s Better Production objective.[23]
  • 2 new private-sector partnerships were signed by FAO in 2024.[23]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Remote work exists alongside on-site operations, with about 12% of workers in U.S. agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting working remotely during October 2023–September 2024.

Hiring in the agri industry

  • More than 70,000 temporary foreign workers were employed in Canada’s primary agriculture sector in 2023.[24]
  • 30% of agricultural job openings in the United States included salary information in December 2024.[9]
  • 2,470 total agricultural job openings were available in the United States on December 25, 2024.[9]
  • 283 agricultural job openings were located in the U.S. Northeast on December 25, 2024.[9]
  • 3,910 job postings represented 2,470 agricultural job openings in the United States on December 25, 2024.[9]

Employee retention in the agri industry

  • 26.92% of surveyed U.S. agribusiness companies reported that 61% to 80% of turnover was voluntary in 2021.[25]
  • 25.64% of surveyed U.S. agribusiness companies reported that 41% to 60% of turnover was voluntary in 2021.[25]
  • 23.75% of surveyed U.S. agribusiness companies reported employee turnover above 20% in 2021.[25]
  • 32.89% of surveyed U.S. agribusiness companies reported that 81% to 100% of turnover was voluntary in 2021.[25]
  • 20.52% of surveyed U.S. agribusiness companies reported that 1% to 20% of turnover was voluntary in 2021.[25]

Remote Work in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. agriculture and food employers, 35% offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024, according to AgCareers’ industry hiring report.[26]
  • Across U.S. crop and animal production, 14.4% of workers worked remotely in 2021, compared with 14.7% in 2019 and 15.4% in 2020.[27]
  • Across U.S. agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, about 12% of workers worked remotely during October 2023–September 2024, including hybrid and fully remote work.[28]
  • Across U.S. accommodation and food services, 4.8% of workers worked remotely in 2021, up from 1.9% in 2019 and 5.3% in 2020.[27]

Hybrid Work in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 21% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals reported working fully remotely in 2024.[29]
  • 44% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals preferred part-time remote work in 2024.[29]
  • 35% of U.S. agriculture and food employers offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024.[26]
  • Among science-of-food professionals surveyed in 2024, 36% reported having no work-at-home days per week.[30]
  • 33% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals reported working in hybrid arrangements in 2024.[29]

Upskilling in the agri industry

  • 40% was the increase in U.S. agriculture-industry apprentices served over the five years through fiscal year 2025.[31]
  • 58.75% of surveyed U.S. agribusiness companies used cross-training for staff development in 2021.[25]
  • 59.49% of surveyed U.S. agribusiness companies used job shadowing in 2021.[25]
  • 51.25% of surveyed U.S. agribusiness companies used certificate courses for staff development in 2021.[25]
  • 71.25% of surveyed U.S. agribusiness companies had employee onboarding programs in 2021.[25]

Employee Engagement in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • In the agriculture industry, employees averaged 7.68 out of 10 for engagement and an eNPS of +5 in CultureMonkey’s 2026 benchmark.[32]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 59.3% on leadership in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[33]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 60.9% on enablement in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[33]
  • At Europe Snacks, a multinational food manufacturer, employee engagement reached 79% across its international workforce and 88% in its UK business after a structured listening program.[33]
  • Manufacture, distribution and storage organizations recorded an average employee-engagement score of 72.9% in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[33]

DEI in the agri industry

  • 25.1% of English principal farmers and holders under age 35 were female on June 1, 2026.[8]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Farming buyers tie digital tools to decision confidence and cost control, with 85% citing input-cost savings and 73% citing decision confidence as motivations in 2024.

Customer experience in the agri industry

  • 25% of U.S. farmers had used online channels for agricultural purchases in a 2017 survey.[7]
  • 79% of surveyed farmers said improving farming sustainability motivated them to use or consider digital technologies in 2024.[34]
  • 85% of surveyed farmers said general input-cost savings motivated them to use or consider digital technologies in 2024.[34]
  • 74% of surveyed farmers said digital technologies could make crop marketing easier in 2024.[34]
  • 73% of surveyed farmers said digital technologies could increase confidence in decision-making in 2024.[34]

Customer retention in the agri industry

  • 52% of U.S. crop producers reported loyalty to fertilizer dealers or retailers in Purdue’s agricultural-business survey.[35]
  • 46% of U.S. livestock producers reported loyalty to animal-health dealers or retailers in Purdue’s agricultural-business survey.[35]
  • 54% was the reported probability that a second-time agricultural buyer would purchase again, as cited in a 2025 seed-marketing analysis.[36]
  • 85% was the customer-retention rate for the same U.S. community-supported agriculture operation in 2022.[37]
  • 90% was the customer-retention rate for a U.S. community-supported agriculture operation in 2021, according to a farm marketing case study.[37]

Customer acquisition in the agri industry

  • 64% of farmers said shows, events and conferences were important to their agricultural buying decisions in the 2023–24 survey period.[38]
  • 58% of Canadian agricultural producers preferred direct mail for receiving agricultural news and developments in 2018.[39]
  • 54% of farmers preferred email for weekly or monthly supplier contact in the 2023–24 marketing-to-farmers survey.[38]
  • 40% of farmers were open to receiving weekly or monthly supplier text messages in the 2023–24 marketing-to-farmers survey.[38]
  • 25% of farmers welcomed monthly supplier communication by direct mail in the 2023–24 marketing-to-farmers survey.[38]

Customer loyalty in the agri industry

  • 68% of U.S. crop producers reported loyalty to seed brands in Purdue’s agricultural-business survey.[35]
  • 12% of Australian farmers cited good customer service as their reason for trusting an agribusiness brand in 2022.[40]
  • 26% of Australian farmers cited a strong customer relationship as their reason for trusting an agribusiness brand in 2022.[40]
  • 53% of U.S. livestock producers reported loyalty to animal-genetics brands in Purdue’s agricultural-business survey.[35]
  • 47% of U.S. livestock producers reported loyalty to animal-feed brands in Purdue’s agricultural-business survey.[35]

Lead generation in the agri industry

  • 19% of European farmers never communicated about agriculture using email, social media or instant messaging in the cited survey.[41]
  • 22% of European farmers regularly communicated about agriculture using email, social media or instant messaging in the cited survey.[41]
  • 37% of European farmers often or frequently browsed online for information about improving farming practices in the cited survey.[41]
  • 20.5% of 106,121 U.S. agricultural businesses in a September 2026 business-directory sample had a Facebook presence listed.[42]
  • 73.6% of 106,121 U.S. agricultural businesses in a September 2026 business-directory sample had a phone number listed.[42]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Direct channels remain visible in farm marketing, while food and drink influencer content reached 42.7 billion engagements globally in 2023.

Marketing in the agri industry

  • 96% of U.S. beginning farmers said direct marketing helped build relationships with their local community in 2016.[43]
  • 83% of U.S. beginning farmers with six to ten years of experience ranked direct-to-consumer marketing as their most profitable outlet in 2016.[43]
  • 9% of U.S. beginning farmers with six to ten years of experience sold directly to institutions in 2016.[43]
  • 59% of U.S. beginning farmers with six to ten years of experience sold directly to retailers in 2016.[43]
  • 96% of U.S. beginning farmers with six to ten years of experience used direct-to-consumer marketing channels in 2016.[43]

Digital marketing in the agri industry

  • 57 California direct-market farmers used email listservs for online sales or marketing during March–December 2020.[44]
  • 134 California direct-market farmers used a generic website for online sales or marketing during March–December 2020.[44]
  • Fewer than one-third of farmers who bought agricultural products online later switched to physical channels in 2018.[7]
  • More than 25% of farmers aged 35 or younger purchased agricultural products online in 2018.[7]
  • 34 California direct-market farmers used an online commerce platform for farms during March–December 2020.[44]

Branding in the agri industry

  • 24% of U.S. organic farmers surveyed used media interviews about their farms or products as a marketing aid.[45]
  • 48% of U.S. organic farmers surveyed used an organic certification label or seal on products.[45]
  • 18% of U.S. organic farmers surveyed used product samples as a marketing aid.[45]
  • 31% of U.S. organic farmers surveyed used telephone calls to potential buyers as a marketing aid.[45]
  • 17% of U.S. organic farmers surveyed used recipes, cooking tips or cookbooks as a marketing aid.[45]

Social media in the agri industry

  • 4–18% of German farmers practiced direct marketing in 2020, with digital direct marketing described as exceptional.[46]
  • 69% of U.S. farmers surveyed accessed social media for personal use at least weekly in 2022.[47]
  • Nearly 40% of German farmers surveyed used social media in 2020.[46]
  • 34% of German farmers planned to create a social-media profile in 2022.[46]
  • 62.9% of vegetable farmers in Southern Shan State, Myanmar, expressed interest in adopting new agricultural technologies in 2026.[48]

Influencer Marketing in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Food and drink influencer posts achieved a 1.19% average engagement rate globally in 2023.[49]
  • Food and drink influencer content produced an estimated $122 billion in earned media value globally in 2023.[49]
  • Food and drink influencer content generated 42.7 billion engagements globally in 2023.[49]
  • 11.5 million influencer posts covered food and drink globally in 2023, according to Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[49]
  • Food and drink influencer content involved 78,800 profiles globally in 2023, based on Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[49]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Precision and monitoring spread varies by farm size, with 68% of large-scale U.S. crop-producing farms using yield monitors, yield maps or soil maps in 2023.

Process optimization in the agri industry

  • 68% of large-scale U.S. crop-producing farms used yield monitors, yield maps or soil maps in 2023.[6]
  • 52% of midsize U.S. farms used guidance autosteering systems in 2023.[6]
  • 32% of midsize U.S. farms used variable-rate technologies in 2023.[6]
  • 19% of large-scale U.S. crop-producing farms used robotic milking in 2023.[6]
  • 9% of small U.S. family farms used guidance autosteering systems in 2023.[6]

Operational efficiency in the agri industry

  • 38% of U.S. farmers adopted remote-sensing technologies in a 2024 global farmer survey.[7]
  • 13.3% of food was lost globally after harvest through farm, transport, storage, wholesale and processing stages in 2023.[18]
  • 25.4% of fruits and vegetables were lost globally after harvest in 2023.[18]
  • 11.9% of U.S. farms used precision agriculture practices in 2022, according to Census of Agriculture data.[50]
  • Agriculture’s global water-use efficiency was USD 0.70 per cubic metre in 2023.[18]

Quality management in the agri industry

  • 17,445 U.S. operations were certified organic in 2021.[6]
  • FDA’s CORE Network evaluated 69 food-safety incidents involving FDA-regulated foods in 2023.[51]
  • 3.6 million acres of U.S. cropland were certified organic in 2021.[6]
  • USD 67.6 billion was the value of U.S. organic retail sales in 2022.[52]
  • FDA’s CORE Network responded to 25 food-safety incidents involving FDA-regulated foods in 2023.[51]

Supply chain in the agri industry

  • 14.1% was the measured aggregate post-harvest loss rate for cowpea in Niger in 2024.[18]
  • 5% of global annual agricultural GDP was lost on average each year because of disasters between 1991 and 2021.[18]
  • 19.5% was the measured aggregate post-harvest loss rate for maize in Niger in 2024.[18]
  • 19.0% of food was lost in small island developing states after harvest in 2023.[18]
  • 27% of U.S. freight ton-miles were generated by agricultural products across all modes in 2022.[52]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • About 12% of firms in the 11-country World Bank Firm-level Adoption of Technology sample outsourced at least one food-processing function, compared with about 18% in apparel.[53]
  • 19% of surveyed Queensland food-processing businesses contracted work out in 2010, while 28% contracted work in and 15% did both.[54]
  • 2% of Canadian food and beverage companies outsourced production entirely to third-party manufacturers in 2020.[55]
  • 66% of Queensland food-processing businesses engaged in contract manufacturing to some extent in 2010, including contracting work in or out.[54]
  • 49% of U.S. growers surveyed outsourced at least some farm work to third-party service providers in 2022, with spraying services the most commonly outsourced activity.[56]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Pricing pressures differ by commodity, including a 37% decline in EU olive-oil prices in 2025 versus 2024.

Pricing strategy in the agri industry

  • 10% was the increase in EU milk prices in 2025 compared with 2024.[5]
  • 37% was the decline in EU olive-oil prices in 2025 compared with 2024, requiring substantial repricing by producers.[5]
  • 9% was the increase in EU poultry prices in 2025 compared with 2024.[5]
  • 6% was the decline in EU pig prices in 2025 compared with 2024.[5]
  • 3% was the average increase in EU agricultural output prices in 2025 compared with 2024, influencing farm-gate pricing decisions across the bloc.[5]

Cost reduction in the agri industry

  • 2.9% was the forecast decline in U.S. farm production expenses from $463.8 billion in 2024 to $450.4 billion in 2025, in inflation-adjusted dollars.[6]
  • $484.7 billion was U.S. total farm production expenses in 2023, including costs associated with operator dwellings.[6]
  • 2.7% was the increase in EU agricultural output volume in 2024? No—EU output volume rose 1.0%, while the cost-related input measure declined 3.7%.[5]
  • 7% was the amount by which U.S. total cash production expenses in 2025 were projected to exceed the 2004–23 average.[6]
  • $20.9 billion was the projected decline in U.S. farm production expenses from 2023 to 2024, in inflation-adjusted dollars.[6]

Profitability in the agri industry

  • 41.1% of EU agricultural output value came from animals and animal products in 2024.[5]
  • 71% of U.S. farms operated in the high-risk zone, defined by an operating profit margin below 10%, in 2024.[6]
  • 62% of U.S. retirement farms were in the high-risk operating-profit-margin zone in 2024.[6]
  • $158.4 billion was forecast U.S. net farm income in 2026, down 2.6% from 2025 in nominal terms.[6]
  • €228.6 billion was the EU agricultural sector’s gross value added in 2024, up 3.1% from 2023.[5]

Financial planning in the agri industry

  • 13.54% was the forecast U.S. farm-sector debt-to-asset ratio in 2026, up from 13.34% in 2025.[6]
  • 5.625% was the August 2024 USDA direct farm-ownership-loan interest rate.[57]
  • $605.1 billion was forecast U.S. farm-sector debt in 2026, up 4.6% nominally from 2025.[6]
  • $3.86 trillion was forecast U.S. farm-sector equity in 2026, up 2.7% nominally from 2025.[6]
  • 3.625% was the August 2024 USDA direct joint-financing farm-ownership-loan interest rate.[57]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Software uptake remains measured, with 21% of surveyed EU farmers using farm-management software and 9% planning adoption within five years.

Product development in the agri industry

  • 22% of surveyed EU farmers used maps from satellite data, while 10% planned to adopt them within five years.[58]
  • 21% of surveyed EU farmers used farm-management software, while 9% planned to adopt it within five years.[58]
  • $5.16 billion was spent on public agricultural R&D in the United States in 2019, measured in constant 2019 dollars.[6]
  • 500,000 connected machines were reported by John Deere as being in operation worldwide by 2026.[59]
  • 93% of surveyed EU farmers used at least one information-technology or software tool in agriculture in the JRC study.[60]

Product lifecycle in the agri industry

  • 2,646,047 trucks, including pickups, on U.S. farms in 2022 were manufactured before 2018.[61]
  • 3,343,915 U.S. tractors in 2022 were manufactured before 2018.[61]
  • 1,252,844 tractors with at least 100 PTO horsepower were recorded on U.S. farms in 2022.[62]
  • 142,000 tractors were owned by farms in the Czech Republic in 2023, 17% more than in 2013.[63]
  • 3,784,743 tractors were recorded on 1,509,666 U.S. farms in 2022.[61]

After-sales in the agri industry

  • 29.6% of North American agricultural-equipment dealers reported service revenue growth of 2% to 7% in 2024 versus 2023.[64]
  • 43.2% of North American agricultural-equipment dealers forecast service-revenue growth of 2% to 7% for 2025.[64]
  • $130 to $200 was the typical hourly rate for service provided by a Deere agricultural-equipment dealer in 2024.[65]
  • Nearly 60% of North American agricultural-equipment dealers forecast parts revenue to increase in 2026.[64]
  • 26% of power-equipment dealers reported that service and parts generated 40% to 60% of annual sales in 2024.[66]

Value proposition in the agri industry

  • 79% of surveyed farmers rated improving farming sustainability as an extremely motivating or motivating reason to adopt digital agriculture technologies.[34]
  • 72% of surveyed farmers rated optimizing labor requirements as an extremely motivating or motivating reason to adopt digital agriculture technologies.[34]
  • 26% of Kenyan farmers said information on inputs and equipment would be the most useful information received on their phones.[67]
  • 88% of surveyed farmers rated improving crop yields as an extremely motivating or motivating reason to adopt digital agriculture technologies.[34]
  • 73% of Kenyan farmers expressed willingness to pay for accurate and helpful agricultural information services.[67]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Emissions and land-use remain core constraints, with 49% of agrifood-system emissions coming from farm-gate crop and livestock production in 2023.

Sustainability in the agri industry

  • 23.0% of food was lost in sub-Saharan Africa in 2023, the highest regional rate reported.[18]
  • Agriculture accounts for more than 70% of global freshwater withdrawals.[18]
  • 10.0% of food was lost in Northern America and Europe in 2023, the lowest regional rate reported.[18]
  • 150 million hectares, or 4%, was the decline in global permanent meadows and pastures between 2001 and 2023.[18]
  • 13.3% of food was lost globally after harvest and before retail in 2023.[18]

ESG in the agri industry

  • 49% of agrifood-system emissions came from farm-gate crop and livestock production in 2023.[18]
  • 5.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent came from pre- and post-agricultural production emissions in 2023.[18]
  • 32% was the share of global anthropogenic emissions attributable to agrifood systems in 2023.[18]
  • 8.1 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent came from farm-gate crop and livestock emissions in 2023.[18]
  • 4.7 million farmers had adopted improved agricultural technologies through active World Bank agriculture and food projects by fiscal year 2024.[68]

Ethics in the agri industry

  • 61% of children in child labour worked in agriculture globally in 2024, equivalent to approximately 84 million children.[69]
  • 8.6% of boys aged 5–17 were in child labour in 2024, compared with 6.9% of girls.[69]
  • 54 million children, or 3.1% of children aged 5–17, were in hazardous work in 2024.[69]
  • 87 million children were in child labour in sub-Saharan Africa in 2024.[69]
  • 28 million people remained in forced labour globally in 2021, with agriculture among the five most impacted sectors.[69]

CSR in the agri industry

  • 783 million people were affected by hunger in 2022 while more than one billion meals were wasted daily by households.[70]
  • 62% of lending in the World Bank agriculture and food sector was climate finance in fiscal year 2024.[68]
  • 74 kilograms was the average annual amount of food wasted per person in the FAO summary of UNEP data.[18]
  • 735 million people were estimated to suffer from hunger or malnutrition in 2023, underscoring the social impact of agricultural food-loss reduction.[18]
  • 8–10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions were associated with food loss and waste in the latest FAO estimate.[18]

Circular economy in the agri industry

  • 1.4 billion hectares was the estimated global land occupation footprint of food loss and waste.[18]
  • $1 trillion worth of food was thrown away globally each year according to the UNEP estimate cited by FAO.[18]
  • 12% of global food waste occurred in retail in 2022.[70]
  • 631 million tonnes of food waste came from households in 2022.[71]
  • 28% of the world’s agricultural land was used to produce food that was never eaten.[18]

Carbon footprint in the agri industry

  • 9.2% of U.S. anthropogenic methane emissions came from manure management in 2022.[72]
  • 593.4 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent were emitted by U.S. agriculture in 2022.[73]
  • 9.4% of total U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions came from agriculture in 2022.[73]
  • 1.9 kilograms of CO2 equivalent per international dollar was the global agricultural-production emissions intensity in 2023.[18]
  • 4.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent were emitted by livestock globally in 2023.[18]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Trade is dominated by food commodities: 86% of global trade in crop and livestock products consisted of food commodities in 2024.

Globalization in the agri industry

  • Global trade in crop and livestock products expanded steadily in real terms until 2020.[18]
  • 17,500 agribusiness companies were included in a global analysis of agricultural value-chain networks covering 2014–2022.[80]
  • Growing feed demand increased international trade in feed crops and processed feed products through 2024.[18]
  • 86% of global trade in crop and livestock products consisted of food commodities in 2024.[18]
  • More than 150,000 supplier and customer connections were analyzed across global agricultural value chains for 2014–2022.[80]

Cultural adaptation in the agri industry

  • 82.3% of female respondents in an Oregon local-food survey cited supporting local farmers as a purchase motivation.[81]
  • 53% of French consumers surveyed said they had reduced meat consumption during the previous three years.[82]
  • 85% of surveyed French consumers supported awareness campaigns promoting sustainable food.[82]
  • 90% of surveyed French consumers supported tighter supervision of trade between producers and distributors.[82]
  • 87% of surveyed French consumers supported mandatory ecological-impact labeling for food products.[82]

Supplier management in the agri industry

  • 33.3% of agricultural companies surveyed in Hainan, China, said a long-term relationship had been established with farmers.[83]
  • 70.5% of agricultural companies surveyed in Hainan, China, had cooperated with farmers for fewer than 10 years.[83]
  • About 500 million farmers globally are smallholders, according to a World Bank sustainable-supply-chain handbook.[53]
  • 76.9% of agricultural companies surveyed in Hainan, China, cooperated with 500 farmers or fewer.[83]
  • 2.6% of agricultural companies surveyed in Hainan, China, had begun to feel dissatisfied with farmer cooperation.[83]

Stakeholder management in the agri industry

  • 31% of producer organizations in the evaluated programmes secured formal partnerships.[84]
  • 90% of land in Fiji is owned and managed by traditional clans or landowning units.[85]
  • 60% of farming households in Fiji rely on subsistence farming supplemented by marine-product collection.[85]
  • Improved access to productive resources for women smallholders was estimated to lift 100–150 million people out of hunger.[86]
  • 71% of 86 IFAD projects approved from December 2011 to December 2014 included smallholder market-access activities.[87]

Distribution channels in the agri industry

  • 11.8% of total United States grocery sales came through e-commerce in 2023.[24]
  • Local-food producers in the United States sold 34.5% of sales directly to consumers in 2015.[6]
  • United States local-food producers sold US$8.7 billion of edible farm products directly to consumers, retailers, institutions and local distributors in 2015.[6]
  • Farmers’ markets accounted for nearly 25% of United States direct-to-consumer local-food sales in 2015.[6]
  • Local-food producers in the United States sold 26.4% of sales through retailers in 2015.[6]

Key questions about the agri industry

What is the size of global agriculture?
Global agriculture generated $4.2 trillion in value added in 2024, and global value added reached $4.2T in 2024, up 3.1% from $4.1T in 2023.
How fast is output expected to grow in cereals?
The OECD–FAO projects global cereal production to grow by about 1.1% annually through 2034, reaching 3.2 billion tonnes, relying mainly on yield improvements.
Which companies lead the agri industry?
Cargill stands out for global agricultural commodities and food supply because it provides food and agricultural solutions across global supply chains, while Bunge is the pick for oilseeds processing and grain merchandising since it processes oilseeds and merchandises grains across major agricultural regions with a 2.2% operating margin.
How are farmers adopting new agricultural technologies?
UK farmers reported 27% familiarity with agricultural AI and 45% of EU agri-food companies using AI obtained it through external service providers in 2024. In the United States, 61% of farmers reported adopting digital agronomy technologies in 2024.
How concentrated is global agricultural commodity trade?
The two largest exporters supplied about 85% of global soybean exports and about 85% of palm-oil exports in 2024, even though agricultural production is geographically broad.
What is changing in food prices recently?
In October 2026, the FAO Food Price Index averaged 133.9 points, 5.9% above October 2025 and 16.4% below its March 2022 peak.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Agri Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/agri-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Agri Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 10 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/agri-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Agri Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/agri-industry-statistics.

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