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250 Years of American Agriculture

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By Molly Clark

As this week marks America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, it is interesting to take a very quick look at a snapshot of how agriculture has changed over the course of American history using data from the USDA Agriculture Census.

In the early 20th century, agriculture was labor intensive and usually happened on small, very diversified farms. Farms raised animals, grew a large variety of crops and depended heavily on family labor. Rural life was much more prominent: in 1900, just under 40% of the US population lived on farms, and about 60% lived in rural areas. Today, only about 1% of Americans live on farms and agriculture is shaped by fewer, larger, more specialized, and more high-tech operations.

The number of US farms grew through the early 1900s and peaked in 1935 at about 6.8 million farms. From there, the number dropped sharply through the 1970s and then continued a gradual decline. In 2024, there were about 1.8 million US farms. The country has far fewer farms, but the remaining operations are much larger than before. The average farm size in 2024 was 466 acres compared with about 150 acres in the mid-20th century. As well as the stark change in farm size, most farms have shifted away from the traditional model of growing a mix of crops and raising several kinds of livestock. Today, agricultural operations are extremely specialized, with farms focusing on just a few major crops, or one type of livestock.

Farms under 180 acres still make up nearly 70% of all US farms, and smaller farms certainly play a crucial role in local food systems, farmers markets, community supported agriculture and in helping new farmers get started!

Farming has one of the oldest workforces of any major occupation in the country. Farmers aged 65 and older now make up more than 40% of all US producers and the average age of a farmer is close to 60.

According to the National Young Farmers Coalition, there is some encouraging news, though. The 2022 Census of Agriculture showed a 7% increase in farmers under age 44, with the biggest jump among producers under 25- suggesting young people are still interested in agriculture, even if getting started is not easy. Young and beginning farmers often face significant barriers, including very high land prices (especially closer to urban areas), student loan debt, limited access to capital, and health care cost challenges. These issues make it harder for the next generation to enter farming and stay there.

Small farms between 1 and 9 acres declined by more than 14% from 1997 to 2022. This is significant because very small farms can serve as important entry points for young and beginning farmers and are often more diverse and more likely to be managed regeneratively!

These shifts in American agriculture raise important questions about land access, food systems, rural communities, and who will be able to farm in the future.

Rushton Farm serves as an important model of a community working together to protect critical farmland and make the land available and accessible to farmers to provide healthy food, grown safely and sustainably to a group of dedicated CSA members!

We’d love to see the future of farming in our region include more replicas of the Rushton Farm model!

Market in the Meadow Vegetarian Chili Recipe

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This recipe comes from What’s Gaby Cooking.
Cover photo by Jennifer Mathes

You all loved our Vegetarian Chili from Market in the Meadow, so we had to share!

A special thanks to our dedicated volunteers who harvested, chopped, and cooked this delicious meal at the Rushton Conservation Center. Most of the ingredients came right from Rushton Farm.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 2 extra teaspoons
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 large red onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 14.5-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup dried quinoa
  • 4 teaspoons lime juice
  • serving suggestions: avocado, cilantro, crema, grated cheese

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat a large heavy bottom pot with the oil over medium high heat.
  2. Add the sweet potato and onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is softened. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle, cumin, and salt and stir to combine.
  3. Add the stock, tomatoes, black beans, and quinoa and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir to incorporate.
  4. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
  5. Cook for 30-40 minutes until the quinoa is fully cooked and the sweet potatoes are soft.
  6. Add the lime juice and remove the pot from the heat. Season with salt as needed.
  7. Garnish with avocado, cilantro, crema, or cheese before serving.

Serves 4 people.

This recipe comes from What’s Gaby Cooking.

Nature at Night: Let’s Get Growing!

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Join the Rushton Farm Staff for an informative look at starting seeds for the upcoming season. We will look at how to select seeds, propagation techniques, soil preparation, and how to ensure your seedlings grow strong and healthy. We will use hands on demonstration to show how we grow over 40,000 seedlings each year providing 30,000lbs of food. You don’t need to have a green thumb to join us and learn how to make the most of your garden!

Join Us for a Pop-Up Picnic Dinner to Help Kick Off Art on the Trails

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A week-long event Art on the Trails: Preserve Gallery Walk with a pop-up picnic dinner on the lawn at the Rushton Conservation Center provided by our friends at Taste of Puebla. Wander the trails of Rushton Woods Preserve, enjoy the original Plein Air artwork by LandArt Events artists, and stay for a picnic with your group!

Pop-Up Picnic with Taste of Puebla
Friday, October 16th
from 4:30 – 7:00 pm
Rushton Conservation Center

Join us for a pop-up picnic dinner provided by our friends at Taste of Puebla held outside on the lawn at the Rushton Conservation Center. This event is BYOB, blanket, and chairs. There will be plenty of space to maintain social distancing while enjoying a menu featuring ingredients from Rushton Farm and other local Chester County farms. Guests are welcome to picnic on site or take their dinner to-go.

Ticket sales end at 12:00 pm on Thursday, October 15, 2020.

Art on the Trails:
Preserve Gallery Walk
October 17th – 24th from 8 am – 6 pm
Kirkwood, Ashbridge, Rushton Woods Preserve and Farm

Explore the Trust’s preserves through a Plein Air artist’s eye during our week-long, self-guided gallery walk. Trail markers will display the artist’s artwork along the trails of Kirkwood Preserve, Ashbridge Preserve, and Rushton Woods Preserve for you to enjoy from the same location the artist set up their easel. The preserves are open from dawn to dusk for you to wander the trails and collect a canvas for your own home. Visit landartevents.com to purchase the original artwork. LandArt Events donates 15% of all sales to WIllistown Conservation Trust.

Pop-Up Picnic Dinner Menu
Art on the Trails

The Wonder Twins

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Excerpt from The Wild Carrot, August 25, 2020, a weekly newsletter from staff to Rushton Farm CSA members.)

Abby, Anna and Molly harvesting, of course, Magic Molly purple potatoes. Photo by Noah Gress/Staff.


It was a warm day in mid-June and summer was right around the corner when Abby and Anna showed up to volunteer at Rushton Farm. Rushton had been bringing in regular volunteers for a few weeks and we were still working on the logistics for work precautions and social distancing. Volunteers were generally working alone and communication was limited as staff worked independently from the volunteers. That all changed the day Abby and Anna arrived.


On that mid-June “Just Show Up” volunteer Wednesday Abby rolled into the parking lot, hopped out of her car, and sauntered over with a smile to say she was here to volunteer. Anna pulled in a short while later (driving a little bit slower) and with a similar enthusiastic smile jumped right into work in the field. Both Abby and Anna showed no fear in attacking weeds and planting endless crops. They also worked comfortably with the Rushton Staff, who until their arrival had been keeping isolated. In these times where precaution is a constant focus, it was refreshing to see two 17-year-old rising seniors smile and laugh while working hard alongside seasoned farm veterans. From that first day on, Abby and Anna became part of the Rushton Farm Staff.

Abby Oswald harvesting tomatoes at Rushton Farm. Photo by Jennifer Mathes


While Anna became a committed volunteer putting in many hours of hard work on the farm, we found that Abby wouldn’t leave the farm. Really! She showed up at 9 am every morning and left when the senior staff left, took lunch with the senior staff, and put in the same hours as the senior staff. By July Rushton Farm had hired its youngest full time paid intern in Abby Oswald.

Intern, Abby Oswald, at Rushton Farm. Photo by Jennifer Mathes


Through this summer Abby and Anna have been a constant source of positive energy and hope. Every day Abby shows up with a smile and a no-fear attitude. She has worked alongside the senior staff not missing a beat and following instruction closely. It is when Abby and Anna are working together that the farm is most alive. Two high school seniors laughing and bantering about school, swimming, and life while working in the field. Their energy is contagious and it makes you forget about current conditions and appreciate being outside, working on a farm, and enjoying the company of those around you.


Next week Abby and Anna leave the fields of Rushton and head back to school. They will be missed. They leave behind an example that when things get tough when your summer plans are canceled when the future is uncertain, you still have to move forward and keep a positive frame of mind. They both came to Rushton and we, and the farm, are better for it. Abby and Anna, good luck in the upcoming year and always remember that Rushton Farm is right around the corner.

So are the weeds. If you want to sneak out of your virtual classes and come back to the farm we won’t tell anyone. 


-Fred


Abby Oswald will start her senior year at Great Valley High School. She is an avid swimmer who enjoys the outdoors and has a great work ethic.

Anna McNaull will start her senior year at West Chester East High School. Always upbeat and with a constant smile, Anna saw Rushton as an opportunity to get out and spend some time during her summer working on a farm.

501(c)(3) EIN 23-2841453