Gitnux/Report 2026

Agriculture Industry Statistics

The global agricultural sector reached $4.2T in value added in 2024, explore growth projections, company footprints, and adoption trends for 2026.
328Statistics
102Sources
13Sections
1Visuals
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November 11, 2026Updated
Agriculture Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

An editor sets the topic, the inclusion criteria, and the evaluation framework before research starts.

02Source Research

AI search agents locate sources and extract each figure together with the document it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The agriculture industry at a glance

Global agriculture generated $4.2 trillion in value added in 2024, as production, employment and investment shift toward higher-productivity systems in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Productivity improvements and intensification drive most production growth, while animal-source food demand rises alongside rising incomes and urbanization.

$4.2T[17]
Global value added, 2024
916M[17]
Agricultural workers, 2023
13.3%[2]
Production growth to 2035
80.3%[2]
Output growth from middle-income regions
Market size
The global agricultural sector’s value added reached $4.2 trillion in 2024, up 3.1% from $4.1 trillion in 2023. Separately, the OECD-FAO forecasts gross agricultural production value for covered commodities to reach $4.01 trillion by 2035 in constant dollars.[17][2]
Forecast & CAGR
OECD-FAO projects gross agricultural production value to increase 13.3% from the 2023–2025 base period to 2035. This corresponds to an implied compound annual growth rate of approximately 1.1% over the ten-year outlook period.[2]
Market share & regions
Middle-income countries in Asia-Pacific, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean are projected to account for 80.3% of global agricultural output growth through 2035. India alone is projected to contribute 25.6% of the global increase.[2]
Segmentation
Agricultural production is commonly segmented into crops, livestock, and fish and other aquatic foods. In the OECD-FAO 2026–2035 outlook, livestock production is projected to grow 15.1%, crops 12.5%, and fish and other aquatic foods 11.0% through 2035.[2]
Key players & concentration
U.S. farm production is concentrated among larger operations: large-scale family farms represented about 5% of U.S. farms but generated 50% of production value in 2024. Across all family farms, midsize and large-scale operations together accounted for 69% of U.S. production.[5]
Pricing
The OECD-FAO 2026–2035 baseline expects real international agricultural commodity prices to remain broadly stable or below current levels over the decade, supported by productivity gains and lower marginal production costs. The outlook also stresses that weather, energy, fertilizer and geopolitical shocks can cause temporary price spikes.[2]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Productivity improvements and intensification are expected to drive most production growth, while rising incomes and urbanization increase demand for animal-source foods. The main structural challenges are resource constraints, climate and weather variability, fertilizer and energy costs, and projected 6.5% growth in direct agricultural greenhouse-gas emissions by 2035.[2]
Consumer behavior & competition
The OECD-FAO outlook expects total consumption of agricultural and aquatic commodities to rise with population growth, higher incomes and urbanization, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Daily per-capita consumption of meat, dairy, fish and other animal products is projected to increase 6% over the next decade, although low-income countries are expected to remain at only 143 kilocalories per person per day from these foods in 2035.[2]
Latest news
The latest major sector outlook, published in June 2026, projects global agricultural production to expand 13% over the next decade. It also warns that continued energy-price shocks could reduce global grain production by 0.9% in 2027 and by 1.7% in low-income countries under the report’s adverse scenario.[2]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Agriculture Industry

The leading companies in the agriculture 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 agricultural solutions across global food and feed because it operates in 70 countries, while Bunge is the pick for agricultural processing and commodity movement since it moves agricultural commodities from where they are grown to where they are needed.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in agricultural commodities trading

    Cargill

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.6 · Agricultural commodities trading

    Why we picked it: Its global agricultural solutions footprint supports food and feed flows across 70 countries.

    See in ranking ↓Visit cargill.com ↗

  2. Leader in agricultural processing

    Bunge

    NL

    Ranked #2 · 9.5 · Agricultural processing

    Why we picked it: Its focus on oilseeds, grains and edible oils links processing with commodity movement.

    See in ranking ↓Visit bunge.com ↗

  3. Leader in seeds & crop inputs

    Corteva Agriscience

    US

    Ranked #3 · 9.0 · Seeds & crop inputs

    Why we picked it: Its seeds and crop protection portfolio covers more than 100 crops with R&D at 8% of revenue.

    See in ranking ↓Visit corteva.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 agriculture industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Cargill

Agricultural commodities trading · US

9.6
2

Bunge

Agricultural processing · NL

9.5
3

Corteva Agriscience

Seeds & crop inputs · US

9.0
4

JBS

Beef, poultry & pork · BR

9.0
5

Louis Dreyfus Company

Agricultural commodities trading · NL

9.0
6

Olam Group

Food ingredients, commodities and agricultural value chains · SG

8.8
7

Syngenta Group

Crop protection, seeds and biologicals · CH

8.8
8

Land O'Lakes

Dairy, animal feed, crop seed and agricultural inputs · US

8.6
9

Kubota

Compact tractors, farm machinery and engines · JP

8.5
10

Deere

Farm machinery and precision agriculture · US

8.4

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 agriculture industry. In Agriculture Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/agriculture-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Projection

U.S. net farm income, inflation-adjusted

U.S. net farm income, inflation-adjusted grew from 120.4 billion 2025 dollars in 2020 to 154.6 billion 2025 dollars in 2023.

$120
Start
+8.69%
CAGR · 3y
$155
Projected
20202023
source-verifieders.usda.gov2025

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

Farm adoption of AI-enabled features shows measurable lift: 39% of farmers and ranchers reported daily or weekly use in 2026. Adoption varies by use case, with 24.9% of surveyed Austrian farms using AI for automatic environmental control.

AI in the agriculture industry

  • 39% of farmers and ranchers reported daily or weekly use of AI-enabled features integrated into agricultural platforms in 2026.[1]
  • 47.9% of surveyed Austrian farms reported using some AI system, while 52.1% reported using none.[2]
  • 30% of farmers and ranchers reported never using AI-enabled features integrated into agricultural platforms in 2026.[1]
  • 24.9% of surveyed Austrian farms used AI for automatic environmental control.[2]
  • 15% of farms reported using AI in 2026, based on a survey of more than 1,400 farms in the United States and Canada.[3]
  • 21.0% of surveyed Austrian farms used AI for analysis of farm-generated data.[2]

Automation in the agriculture industry

  • 7% of EU farms used robotics in 2023, with robotics defined as machines capable of autonomous operation without direct human intervention.[4]
  • 70% of large-scale U.S. crop-producing farms used guidance autosteering systems in 2023.[5]
  • 9% of small U.S. farms used guidance autosteering systems in 2023.[5]
  • 25% of EU farms with livestock used some machinery or automated system for livestock management in 2023.[2]
  • 14,000 robotic milking units were estimated to be operating on French farms in 2023.[6]
  • 35% of farms in the Netherlands used robotics in 2023, the highest adoption rate among EU countries.[4]

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

  • Across the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem, 20% of companies had a concrete digital-transformation strategy in 2024.[7]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 3.4% had very high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 2.1% in 2021.[7]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 15.4% had high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 13.0% in 2021.[7]
  • In the United States, 61% of farmers reported adopting digital agronomy technologies in 2024.[8]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 51.2% had very low digital intensity in 2023, down from 55.1% in 2021.[7]

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.[2]
  • Across EU farms with utilised agricultural area, about 18% used some form of precision-farming technology or practice in 2023.[2]
  • In Germany, 85.5% of surveyed farms used at least one digital technology in 2024–2025.[2]
  • In Canada, 84% of field-crop operations used GPS equipment in 2021.[2]
  • In Czechia, 30% of crop-production farmers used at least one precision-agriculture technology in 2023.[2]
  • Across EU farms, 43% had internet access, 11% used farm-management information systems, and 7% used robotics in 2023.[2]

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

  • Among EU large businesses, 78% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023, compared with 44% of SMEs.[4]
  • Across EU businesses, 45% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023.[4]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 37% used cloud computing in 2024, up from 26% in 2023.[7]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 26% used cloud computing in 2023.[7]

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

  • In Germany, 5.0% of surveyed farms used artificial-intelligence or big-data technologies in 2024–2025.[2]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 307 startups focused on artificial intelligence and big data were formed between 2015 and 2023.[7]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 13% used big-data technologies in 2024, compared with 17% in 2023.[7]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data quality remains a constraint for AI and operations. In 2024, 30% of manufacturing respondents cited poor-quality data among their top three challenges when working with AI-related data.

Business intelligence in the agriculture industry

  • 2% of surveyed U.S. farms used Granular farm-data software in 2019.[9]
  • 40% of surveyed U.S. farms used at least one farm-data software platform in 2019.[9]
  • 13% of surveyed U.S. farms used a farm-data platform not specifically listed in the survey in 2019.[9]
  • 8% of surveyed U.S. farms used Farmers Business Network software in 2019.[9]
  • 16% of U.S. producers used software to monitor farm equipment in 2024.[10]
  • 12% of surveyed U.S. farms used Trimble farm-data software in 2019.[9]

Data analytics in the agriculture industry

  • 33% of Wyoming farms used precision-agriculture practices in 2023.[11]
  • 13% of Texas farms used precision-agriculture practices in 2023.[11]
  • 15% of U.S. data-collecting farms neither used farm-data software nor shared data with outside service providers in 2019.[9]
  • 40% of California farms used precision-agriculture practices in 2023.[11]
  • 53% of South Dakota farms used precision-agriculture practices in 2023.[11]
  • 4.7% of nearly flat U.S. corn fields used drones, aircraft, or satellites in 2016.[5]

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.[12]
  • 49% of manufacturing respondents rated their operational data as having low AI readiness in 2024, meaning it was insufficiently labeled, contextualized, governed or accessible.[12]
  • 41% of manufacturers said they distrusted the data used for supply-chain operations in 2025, reflecting persistent data-quality concerns in production and procurement.[13]
  • 44% of manufacturers reported that AI projects had failed because of poor data quality in 2025, according to a survey of manufacturing organizations.[13]
  • 42% of manufacturers reported having a process to verify operational data accuracy or quality in 2025, indicating that most lacked a formal validation process.[12]

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.[14]
  • 61% of supply-management organizations reported having a dedicated data-governance function in 2024, while 90% agreed that data governance was necessary.[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.[12]
  • 6% of food and beverage leaders reported fully integrated digital systems in 2025, despite 82% saying technology adoption was a strategic priority.[14]
  • 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.[12]
  • 40% of food and beverage professionals worldwide identified disconnected systems and data as their biggest barrier to moving faster in 2026.[14]

KPIs in the agriculture industry

  • 47% of Canadian farm operators used break-even analyses in 2003.[16]
  • 44% of Canadian farm operators used cash-flow analyses in 2003.[16]
  • 33% of Canadian farm operators used accrual accounting or a combination of accrual and cash accounting in 2003.[16]
  • 52% of Canadian farm operators used production benchmarking in 2003.[16]
  • 71% of U.S. farms were in the high-risk operating-profit-margin zone in 2021.[5]
  • 25% of U.S. farms categorized as moderate-sales or larger had a current ratio below 1 in 2021.[5]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Growth is tied to irrigation capacity and precision adoption rather than scale alone. OECD-FAO also projects gross agricultural production value to rise 13.3% from the 2023–2025 base period to 2035.

Growth in the agriculture industry

  • 17% was the increase in global sugar-crop output from 2010 to 2024, reaching 2.2 billion tonnes.[17]
  • 3.4% was agriculture value-added growth in the Americas in 2024.[17]
  • 2.0% was the contraction in European agriculture value added in 2024.[17]
  • 50% was the increase in global oil-crop production between 2010 and 2024, reaching 1.2 billion tonnes.[17]
  • 3.1% was global agricultural-sector value-added growth from 2023 to 2024, reaching USD 4.2 trillion worldwide.[17]
  • 985 million tonnes was global milk production in 2024, with cattle milk accounting for 81%.[17]

Differentiation in the agriculture industry

  • 45% of large-scale U.S. crop farms used variable-rate technology in 2023.[5]
  • 12% of large-scale U.S. farms used wearable livestock technologies in 2023.[5]
  • 70% of large-scale U.S. crop farms used guidance autosteering in 2023.[5]
  • 22% of global cropland was equipped for irrigation in 2024, totaling 351 million hectares.[17]
  • 19% of large-scale U.S. farms used robotic milking technology in 2023.[5]
  • 68% of large-scale U.S. crop farms used yield monitors, yield maps or soil maps in 2023.[5]

Mergers and acquisitions in the agriculture industry

  • 9 North American agricultural-retail distribution transactions were reported in 2024.[18]
  • 63 North American agriculture transactions were announced or completed in the first quarter of 2025.[19]
  • 17 North American crop-input transactions were reported in 2024.[18]
  • 26 North American agronomy transactions were reported in 2024, the sector’s highest total in five years.[18]
  • 17 agriculture-sector mega-deals exceeding USD 1 billion were recorded globally in 2024.[20]
  • 72 North American agriculture transactions were announced or completed in the second quarter of 2025.[19]

Strategic partnerships in the agriculture industry

  • 6,990,082 smallholders received productivity-enhancement support through GAFSP projects by December 2024.[21]
  • 6,400 tons of cacao were purchased from 48 Colombian farmer associations through buyer partnerships.[22]
  • 590,167 hectares were under climate-smart agricultural practices through GAFSP projects by December 2024.[21]
  • 31,284 active partner entities worked with Heifer International in fiscal year 2024.[23]
  • 22% was the increase in cacao yields among approximately 1,100 Colombian farmers tracked from 2023 to 2024.[22]
  • 167,000 people were reached through more than 3,100 organic-transition partnership events by June 2026.[24]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce participation is pressured by attrition and shifting work models. In U.S. agriculture and food employers, 35% offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024.

Hiring in the agriculture industry

  • 1.46 million people were employed in U.S. agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting in 2025.[25]
  • 4,688 agricultural apprentices were served in the United States in 2025.[26]
  • 21,600 jobs are projected to be added in U.S. agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting between 2025 and 2035.[25]
  • 406,100 people worked in U.S. animal production and aquaculture in 2025.[25]
  • 25,900 jobs are projected to be added in U.S. crop production between 2025 and 2035.[25]

Employee retention in the agriculture industry

  • 7% was the Farm Service Agency County Office employee attrition rate in 2025.[27]
  • 23% was the Agricultural Research Service employee attrition rate in 2025.[27]
  • 35% was the National Institute of Food and Agriculture employee attrition rate in 2025.[27]
  • 34% was the National Agricultural Statistics Service employee attrition rate in 2025.[27]
  • 14% was the Agricultural Marketing Service employee attrition rate in 2025.[27]

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

  • 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.[25]
  • 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.[25]
  • Across U.S. agriculture and food employers, 35% offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024, according to AgCareers’ industry hiring report.[28]
  • 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.[29]

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

  • 35% of U.S. agriculture and food employers offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024.[28]
  • 13% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals preferred full-time on-site work in 2024.[30]
  • 21% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals reported working fully remotely in 2024.[30]
  • Across employers discussed in a food-industry hybrid-work survey, about 90% had adopted some form of hybrid work, although the figure was not limited to agriculture and food production.[31]
  • Among science-of-food professionals surveyed globally in 2024, respondents averaged 2.1 work-at-home days per week.[31]

Upskilling in the agriculture industry

  • 22,114 students had enrolled in Australian agriculture-related Fee-Free TAFE courses by September 2024.[32]
  • 15 weeks is the duration of California’s Farm2Food Accelerator training program for specialty-crop producers.[33]
  • More than 35 California specialty-crop producers had participated in the Farm2Food Accelerator by 2025.[33]
  • 2,500 California farmworkers were engaged through an Imperial Valley workforce breakfast in 2024–2025.[33]
  • 4,688 agricultural apprentices were served through U.S. registered apprenticeships in 2025.[26]

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

  • Manufacture, distribution and storage organizations recorded an average employee-engagement score of 72.9% in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[34]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 59.3% on leadership in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[34]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 60.9% on enablement in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[34]
  • In the agriculture industry, employees averaged 7.68 out of 10 for engagement and an eNPS of +5 in CultureMonkey’s 2026 benchmark.[35]
  • 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.[34]

DEI in the agriculture industry

  • 1.37 billion women were part of the global agrifood-systems workforce in 2025.[17]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Dealer and representative channels stay central for initial purchases. In 2018, 67% of U.S. farmers turned to representatives and dealers during the initial-purchase stage.

Customer experience in the agriculture industry

  • 67% of U.S. farmers turn to representatives and dealers during the initial-purchase stage, 2018.[8]
  • 16% of U.S. Midwest producers identified productivity as a key driver of digital-agriculture adoption, 2025.[36]
  • 10% of farmers found digital sources of agricultural information sufficient for their needs, 2020.[8]
  • 93% of surveyed U.S. Midwest producers used digital agricultural technology, 2025.[36]
  • 36% of U.S. Midwest producers with more than 10 years of experience used variable-rate technologies, 2025.[36]

Customer retention in the agriculture industry

  • 65% was cited as the national average member-retention rate for community-supported agriculture operations, 2010.[37]
  • 94% was the member-retention rate among surveyed community-supported agriculture farms, 2010.[37]
  • 95% of surveyed community-supported agriculture operations provided members with information throughout the season, 2010.[37]
  • 67% of surveyed community-supported agriculture operations asked members for feedback, 2010.[37]

Customer acquisition in the agriculture industry

  • 24% of surveyed farmers expected to change purchasing and vendor strategy, 2022.[8]
  • 78% of surveyed farmers preferred human interaction for product-use and service questions, 2018.[8]
  • 25% of surveyed farmers had used online channels to purchase agricultural products, 2018.[8]
  • 36% of surveyed farmers expected to change crop-protection purchasing and vendor strategy, 2022.[8]
  • 67% of surveyed farmers turned to representatives and dealers during the initial-purchase stage, 2018.[8]

Customer loyalty in the agriculture industry

  • 46% of U.S. livestock producers reported dealer or retailer loyalty for animal health products, 2025.[38]
  • 65% of U.S. crop producers reported dealer or retailer loyalty for seed, 2025.[38]
  • 43% of U.S. livestock producers reported dealer or retailer loyalty for animal genetics, 2025.[38]
  • 51% of U.S. crop producers reported dealer or retailer loyalty for crop protection, 2025.[38]
  • 41% of U.S. crop producers reported brand loyalty for crop protection, 2025.[38]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Direct channels matter for newer farm operators. In the survey, 88% of U.S. beginning farmers used direct-to-consumer marketing channels.

Marketing in the agriculture industry

  • 74% of U.S. beginning farmers said direct sales offered low distribution and transportation costs.[39]
  • 15% of U.S. farmers operating for one to five years sold directly to institutions such as schools, hospitals or universities.[39]
  • 88% of U.S. beginning farmers used direct-to-consumer marketing channels, including farmers markets, farm stands, CSA and online marketplaces, in the survey period.[39]
  • 22% of U.S. farmers operating for one to five years sold through direct-to-intermediate or local-brand channels.[39]
  • 96% of U.S. beginning farmers said direct sales helped build relationships with the local community.[39]

Digital marketing in the agriculture industry

  • 26% of U.K. farmers bought farm software online during the 12 months covered by the 2024 survey.[40]
  • 31% of U.K. farmers bought machinery online during the 12 months covered by the 2024 survey.[40]
  • 48% of U.K. farmers accessed online agricultural resources daily or weekly in 2023.[40]
  • 33% of U.K. farmers read farming news online daily or weekly in 2022.[40]
  • 77% of U.K. farmers bought clothing online during the 12 months covered by the 2024 survey.[40]

Branding in the agriculture industry

  • 50% of Canadian consumers were willing to pay more for local products in 2023.[41]
  • 91% of Canadian consumers used a label to determine whether a food product was humanely produced in 2023.[41]
  • 87% of Canadian consumers used a label to determine whether a food product was local in 2023.[41]
  • 60% of Canadian consumers were willing to pay more for organic products in 2023.[41]
  • 36% of Appalachian farms used no regional branding in 2022.[42]

Social media in the agriculture industry

  • 53% of U.K. farmers used Facebook daily in 2023.[40]
  • 62% of U.K. farmers used Facebook daily in 2024.[40]
  • 83% of U.K. farmers used social media regularly in 2023.[40]
  • 37% of U.K. farmers used YouTube daily in 2023.[40]
  • 75% of U.K. farmers used WhatsApp daily in 2024.[40]

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

  • Food and drink influencer content generated 42.7 billion engagements globally in 2023.[43]
  • Food and drink influencer content involved 78,800 profiles globally in 2023, based on Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[43]
  • Food and drink influencer posts achieved a 1.19% average engagement rate globally in 2023.[43]
  • Food and drink influencer content produced an estimated $122 billion in earned media value globally in 2023.[43]
  • 11.5 million influencer posts covered food and drink globally in 2023, according to Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[43]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Operational efficiency links to mechanization and productivity gains. U.S. output increased 210% from 1948 to 2023, while labor input fell 73% over the same span.

Process optimization in the agriculture industry

  • 1.52% per year was the average growth in U.S. farm output from 1948 to 2023.[5]
  • 210% was the increase in U.S. farm output between 1948 and 2023.[5]
  • 0.12% per year was the average growth in aggregate U.S. farm input use from 1948 to 2023.[5]
  • 13% was the average increase in U.S. dairy net returns associated with robotic milking or use of at least two precision dairy technologies.[5]
  • 73% was the decline in U.S. farm labor input between 1948 and 2023.[5]

Operational efficiency in the agriculture industry

  • 54% of U.S. irrigation water applied to open acres came from on-farm wells in 2023.[44]
  • 53.1 million acres were irrigated by U.S. farms in 2023.[45]
  • 2,074 hours was the average hired-irrigation labor per U.S. farm using hired labor in 2023.[44]
  • 12.6 million more U.S. irrigated acres used sprinkler systems than gravity irrigation in 2023.[44]
  • 212,714 U.S. farms irrigated at some point during 2023.[45]

Quality management in the agriculture industry

  • 7,100 USDA-regulated establishments were covered by FSIS inspection procedures in 2024.[46]
  • 3,008 quarantine-significant pests were intercepted during U.S. baggage inspections in 2024.[47]
  • 16 days was the average time to issue a Federal Select Agent Program final inspection report in 2024.[48]
  • 4.9 billion pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables from 19 countries were inspected and cleared before shipment to the United States in 2024.[47]
  • 7.7 million food-safety and food-defense procedures were conducted at USDA-regulated establishments in 2024.[46]

Supply chain in the agriculture industry

  • 16.9 million hectares of EU agricultural land were under organic farming in 2022.[49]
  • 7.6 million hectares was the increase in organically farmed area across 26 EU countries between 2013 and 2023.[4]
  • 435,000 organic producers were active across the EU value chain in 2022.[49]
  • 89,000 organic processors were active across the EU value chain in 2022.[49]
  • 56% of Eurobarometer respondents recognised the EU organic logo in 2024.[49]

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.[50]
  • 85% of Canadian food and beverage companies processed or manufactured products internally in 2020, while 13% both produced internally and outsourced production.[51]
  • 2% of Canadian food and beverage companies outsourced production entirely to third-party manufacturers in 2020.[51]
  • 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.[52]
  • 66% of Queensland food-processing businesses engaged in contract manufacturing to some extent in 2010, including contracting work in or out.[53]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Price behavior appears restrained, with some regional declines. EU farm-gate output prices increased 2.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024 versus the same quarter of 2023.

Pricing strategy in the agriculture industry

  • €531.9 billion was the value of EU agricultural output at basic prices in 2024, with nominal agricultural-goods prices falling 1.8% year over year.[4]
  • 8.9% was the increase in Ireland’s agricultural output value in 2024 compared with 2023.[4]
  • 12.9% was the decline in Belgium’s agricultural output prices in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with the same quarter of 2024.[4]
  • 8.2% was the decline in Lithuania’s agricultural output prices in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with the same quarter of 2024.[4]
  • 2.2% was the increase in EU farm-gate agricultural output prices in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the fourth quarter of 2023.[4]

Cost reduction in the agriculture industry

  • 5.2% of EU agricultural intermediate consumption was seeds and planting stock in 2025.[4]
  • 31.1% was the increase in EU prices for goods and services consumed in agriculture in 2022.[4]
  • €303.3 billion was EU agricultural intermediate consumption in 2024, down 3.7% from 2023.[4]
  • 4.7% was the decline in EU agricultural input prices for goods and services consumed in agriculture in 2023.[4]
  • 17.6% was the decline in EU fertiliser and soil-improver prices in 2024.[4]

Profitability in the agriculture industry

  • 10% was Greece’s estimated decline in agricultural income per annual work unit in 2025.[4]
  • 29% was Luxembourg’s estimated increase in agricultural income per annual work unit in 2025.[4]
  • €251.8 billion was estimated gross value added generated by EU agriculture in 2025.[4]
  • 38% was the increase in average Australian broadacre farm cash income in 2024–25, reaching A$266,000 per farm.[32]
  • 28% was Romania’s estimated increase in agricultural income per annual work unit in 2025.[4]

Financial planning in the agriculture industry

  • $121,700 was forecast average net cash farm income for U.S. farm businesses in 2026, up 7.1% nominally from 2025.[5]
  • $3.72 trillion was forecast U.S. farm real-estate assets in 2026, representing 83% of total farm-sector assets.[5]
  • $605.1 billion was forecast U.S. farm-sector debt in 2026, up 4.6% nominally from 2025.[5]
  • 22% was the average interest-coverage ratio for Australian broadacre and dairy farms in 2023–24.[32]
  • 52% of Australian broadacre and dairy farm loans were held by the largest 5% of farms in 2023–24.[32]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Input pipeline continues across crop protection and seeds. In 2023, Corteva launched 140 new agricultural products.

Product development in the agriculture industry

  • 90–100 new crop-protection formulations are expected to be introduced by Bayer over the next decade.[54]
  • $1.337 billion was Corteva’s research and development expense in 2023, equal to 8% of net sales globally.[55]
  • $344 million was Elanco’s research and development expense in 2024 across farm-animal and pet-health product categories.[56]
  • 140 new agricultural products were launched by Corteva in 2023.[56]
  • More than 290 new corn seed hybrids were launched by Bayer in 2024.[56]

Product lifecycle in the agriculture industry

  • 100 crop-use approvals covered Eden Research’s registered biopesticides at the end of 2023.[56]
  • 10 years is Bayer’s target period for launching ten agricultural blockbuster products announced in 2024.[54]
  • 22 countries had granted product authorization for Eden Research’s biopesticides at the end of 2023.[56]
  • 11 years is the assumed average useful lifecycle of a tractor in one Scottish agricultural machinery evidence review.[57]
  • 7 years is the assumed average useful lifecycle of a combine harvester in one Scottish agricultural machinery evidence review.[57]

After-sales in the agriculture industry

  • 33% of agricultural equipment repair services were performed in-house after warranty in 2018.[8]
  • 52% of agricultural equipment dealerships identified precision farming as primarily supplementing whole-goods sales and service in 2025.[58]
  • 37% of North American agricultural equipment dealers wanted automation for planned-maintenance scheduling in 2024.[59]
  • 46% of U.S. farmers went outside the OEM channel for post-warranty equipment service in 2018.[8]
  • 37% of North American agricultural equipment dealers wanted automation for analytics reporting in 2024.[59]

Value proposition in the agriculture industry

  • 42% was the estimated willingness-to-pay premium for value-added products in the short-food-supply-chain meta-analysis.[60]
  • 30% of Illinois corn, equivalent to about 274 million bushels annually, was sold for ethanol production in 2024.[61]
  • 50–93% was the observed uptake range for a soil-health product option in a 2025 Larimer County farmers-market purchasing simulation.[62]
  • 95% of U.S. food was imported according to an Illinois precision-fermentation project description, highlighting the value proposition of domestic agricultural production.[61]
  • 22–35% was the estimated profitability advantage for organic farmers compared with conventional farmers in the cited agricultural research.[63]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Emissions and target-setting remain measurable in benchmarks. Projected direct agricultural greenhouse-gas emissions growth is 6.5% by 2035, and 78% of assessed agri-food companies had absolute emissions-reduction targets in 2024.

Sustainability in the agriculture industry

  • 3.4% of consistently tracked U.S. farm operations used cover crops in 2012, 2017 and 2022.[5]
  • 105.2 million U.S. acres were in no-till production in 2022, about 35% of harvested cropland.[64]
  • 16.8 million hectares of EU agricultural land were organic or under conversion in 2024.[4]
  • 25% of U.S. producers in a longitudinal USDA sample tried cover crops at least once during 2012, 2017 or 2022.[5]
  • 756,000 additional U.S. acres entered no-till production between 2017 and 2022.[64]

ESG in the agriculture industry

  • About 50% of assessed agri-food companies had set a zero-deforestation target in 2024.[65]
  • 5.5 out of 100 was the average inclusive-food-systems score in the 2026 benchmark.[66]
  • 15.5 out of 100 was the average score of companies in the 2026 Food and Agriculture Benchmark.[66]
  • 350 major food and agriculture companies were assessed in the 2023 Food and Agriculture Benchmark.[66]
  • 78% of assessed agri-food companies had absolute emissions-reduction targets in 2024.[65]

Ethics in the agriculture industry

  • 2.3 million workers were employed in U.S. agriculture and related industries in 2023.[67]
  • 18.6 fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers occurred in U.S. agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting in 2022.[67]
  • 61% of children in global child labour worked in agriculture in 2024, approximately 84 million children.[68]
  • 5 consumer-facing companies had targets to increase sales of healthy foods in 2023.[17]
  • 18% of consumer-facing companies disclosed product reformulation efforts to improve nutrition in 2023.[17]

CSR in the agriculture industry

  • 20% of the 2026 benchmark weighting covered core social indicators.[66]
  • 61.2 out of 100 was Bayer’s score, the highest company score shown in the 2026 benchmark hub.[66]
  • 350 companies span agricultural inputs, agricultural products, commodities, animal proteins, processing, retail and food service in the benchmark.[66]
  • 23 food-and-agriculture-specific indicators were used in the 2026 benchmark.[66]
  • Companies headquartered in Latin America, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa showed lower sustainability-disclosure levels than companies in several other regions in 2023.[66]

Circular economy in the agriculture industry

  • 286.4 million tonnes of crop residues were estimated in the European agricultural-waste assessment.[69]
  • 19% of food produced globally was wasted in 2022.[70]
  • 12.6 million tonnes, or 87% of European animal faeces, urine and manure, were directed to recycling such as anaerobic digestion and composting.[69]
  • 13.0% of food was lost globally between harvest and retail in 2015.[17]
  • 60% of global food waste occurred at the household level in 2022.[71]

Carbon footprint in the agriculture industry

  • 4.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent were livestock emissions in 2023.[17]
  • 19% of global agrifood-system emissions came from land-use change in 2023.[17]
  • 2.0 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per capita was global agrifood-system emissions in 2023.[17]
  • 16.5 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent were emitted by global agrifood systems in 2023.[17]
  • 32% of global agrifood-system emissions came from pre- and post-production activities in 2023.[17]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Trade growth continues alongside shifting production regions. Global agricultural exports were 1.7 times higher in nominal value in 2023 than in 2010.

Globalization in the agriculture industry

  • 930 kilocalories was the increase in food trade adjusted for global population growth, according to the cited United Nations analysis.[78]
  • 1.7 times higher was the nominal value of global agricultural exports in 2023 than in 2010.[17]
  • 7% was the forecast decline in total global grain trade in 2024/25 compared with 2023/24.[79]
  • 30.8 million tonnes was Brazil’s increase in soybean output in 2023.[17]
  • 8% was agriculture’s share of total merchandise trade value in 2023, up from 7% in 2010.[17]

Cultural adaptation in the agriculture industry

  • 30% of surveyed Canadian consumers considered food produced or grown locally within their province or territory in 2023.[80]
  • 76% of surveyed Canadian consumers cited quality as a food-purchase factor in 2023.[80]
  • 33% of surveyed Canadian consumers considered Canadian-produced or Canadian-grown food when purchasing in 2023.[80]
  • 12% of surveyed Canadian consumers considered organic production in 2023.[80]
  • 7% of surveyed Canadian consumers considered fair-trade attributes in 2023.[80]

Supplier management in the agriculture industry

  • 8 years was the period covered by the World Bank analysis of agribusiness supplier and customer networks.[81]
  • 1 input-retailer tier is identified in the World Bank handbook’s agricultural value-chain structure.[50]
  • 1 importer or producer tier is identified in the World Bank handbook’s agricultural value-chain structure.[50]
  • 2024 was the latest year in the FAOSTAT detailed trade-matrix time coverage identified in the dataset record.[82]
  • 1 farmer-association tier is identified in the World Bank handbook’s agricultural value-chain structure.[50]

Stakeholder management in the agriculture industry

  • $701 billion was global public expenditure on agriculture in 2023.[71]
  • 0.43 was the global agriculture orientation index in 2023.[71]
  • 4% was the share of government expenditure allocated to agriculture by least developed countries in 2023.[71]
  • 0.50 was the global agriculture orientation index in 2015.[71]
  • 1.85% was agriculture’s share of total government spending globally in 2023.[71]

Distribution channels in the agriculture industry

  • $17.5 billion was the value of food sold directly through U.S. farm marketing channels in 2022.[5]
  • 17% of Iowa specialty-crop farms sold exclusively through wholesale or intermediated markets in 2023.[83]
  • $3.2 billion was sold by U.S. nonfamily farms to retail markets in 2024.[5]
  • 57% was the combined share of sales through wholesale and processing channels among larger farms in the cited English study.[84]
  • 10% of surveyed English farms undertook their own processing or direct sales in 2020/21.[84]

16 Statistics

Regional markets

Regional production and labor intensity differ substantially. The United States recorded $543 billion in total value of agricultural production in 2022, comprising $281 billion in crops and $262 billion in livestock.

The agriculture industry in United States

  • 1.90 million farms operated across 880.1 million acres in the United States in 2022.[44]
  • $543 billion was the total value of U.S. agricultural production in 2022, comprising $281 billion in crops and $262 billion in livestock.[45]
  • $177.2 billion in U.S. agricultural exports supported $369.2 billion in total economic output in 2024.[5]

The agriculture industry in Australia

  • $82 billion was Australia’s gross value of agricultural production at the farm gate in 2023–24.[32]
  • 71% of Australia’s agricultural production by volume was exported on average during the three years to 2024–25.[32]
  • 2.2% of Australia’s national employment, approximately 300,000 jobs, was accounted for by agriculture in 2023–24.[32]

The agriculture industry in Brazil

  • 292.7 million tonnes of grains were produced in Brazil in 2024, down 7.2% from 2023.[85]
  • 144.6 million tonnes of grains were produced in Brazil’s Center-West region in 2024, representing a 10.2% decline from 2023.[85]
  • R$2.698 trillion was Brazil’s agribusiness GDP in 2024, according to CEPEA/USP.[86]

The agriculture industry in China

  • 20.6173 trillion yuan was the value added of China’s agriculture and related industries in 2024, equal to 15.29% of GDP.[87]
  • 119.32 million hectares were sown with grain in China in 2024, including 44.74 million hectares of corn and 29.01 million hectares of rice.[87]
  • 706.50 million tonnes of grain were produced in China in 2024, up 1.6% from 2023.[87]

The agriculture industry in Mexico

  • 17,780,345 agricultural day-laborer jobs were recorded in Mexico in 2025.[88]
  • 20.4 million metric tons of white corn were produced in Mexico in 2025.[88]
  • 4,422,243 agricultural production units were recorded in Mexico in 2022.[89]
  • 6,393,123 hectares, or 27.9% of Mexico’s agricultural area, were irrigated in 2025.[88]
  • 13,311,924 people formed Mexico’s permanent agricultural workforce in 2025.[88]

The agriculture industry in Argentina

  • 10.5 billion liters of milk were produced in Argentina in 2024.[90]
  • 2,267 million hours were worked in Argentina’s agriculture, livestock, hunting and forestry sector in the third quarter of 2024, annualized.[90]
  • 357,365 registered jobs were held in Argentina’s agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry and fishing sector in 2024.[90]

The agriculture industry in United Kingdom

  • 453,000 people worked on United Kingdom commercial agricultural holdings in 2024.[91]
  • £7.7 billion was the United Kingdom’s total income from farming in 2024.[91]
  • £20.1 billion was total livestock output in the United Kingdom in 2024.[91]
  • £14.5 billion was agriculture’s contribution to the United Kingdom economy in 2024, equal to 0.6% of GVA.[91]
  • 17 million hectares, covering 69% of UK land, were utilised for agriculture in 2024.[91]

Key questions about the agriculture industry

How large is the global agriculture market in value-added terms?
Global agriculture generated $4.2 trillion in value added in 2024. The same figure is reported as the global agricultural sector’s value-added level for 2024.
How fast is agricultural output expected to grow over the next decade?
OECD-FAO projects gross agricultural production value to increase 13.3% from the 2023–2025 base period to 2035. This corresponds to an implied compound annual growth rate of approximately 1.1% over the ten-year outlook period.
Which companies lead the agriculture industry?
Cargill stands out for agricultural solutions across global food and feed because it operates in 70 countries, while Bunge is the pick for agricultural processing and commodity movement since it moves agricultural commodities from where they are grown to where they are needed.
What technology shifts are most visible on farms and in agri-food systems?
In 2026, 39% of farmers and ranchers reported daily or weekly use of AI-enabled features integrated into agricultural platforms. In 2024, 61% of farmers in the United States reported adopting digital agronomy technologies.
What does industry concentration look like in farm production?
Large-scale family farms represented about 5% of U.S. farms but generated 50% of production value in 2024. Across all family farms, midsize and large-scale operations together accounted for 69% of U.S. production.
What pricing and disruption risks show up in the outlook?
Real international agricultural commodity prices are expected to remain broadly stable or below current levels over the decade. The outlook also stresses weather, energy, fertilizer and geopolitical shocks can cause temporary price spikes, with an adverse scenario projecting reduced global grain production of 0.9% in 2027 and 1.7% in low-income countries.
Reference

Cite This Report

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

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