News Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released the 2023 Census of Agriculture data for the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands today.

The most widely used statistics in the agriculture industry, the Census of Agriculture, is conducted every five years and provides the most comprehensive and impartial agriculture data at the island level. “We thank the producers who gave their time to complete the questionnaire. The Census of Agriculture data tells their agriculture story,” said NASS Administrator Joseph Parsons. “The agricultural census data provides vital data that helps shape policies, allocate resources and support the growth and sustainability of agriculture in the CNMI.”

Federal and local governments, agribusinesses, organizations and many more use Census of Agriculture data to support funding research and programs to improve farming techniques and equipment, building infrastructure for high-speed internet, providing effective production and distribution systems as well as natural disaster preparation, response and recovery assistance.

Highlights from the 2023 Census of Agriculture for CNMI:

• There were 316 farms, up 25% from the last census. Land in farms totaled 2,833 acres, with an average farm size of 9 acres.
• The total value of sales was $ 2.8 million, with an average value of $ 8,731 per farm.
• Vegetables and melons represented the largest category of production, with sales of $ 1.3 million.

The Census of Agriculture in CNMI defined a farm as any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, in 2023.

The full Census of Agriculture report as well as publication dates for additional data products from the census can be found at nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.