American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Practice Exam

In the 1990s, the Census Bureau reported the number of U.S. farms had declined below 2 million, the lowest number since?

1. World War II

2. The Great Depression

3. The turn of the century

4. Before the Civil War

The correct answer is: Before the Civil War

The correct response highlights a significant historical trend in U.S. agriculture. The decline of the number of farms to below 2 million in the 1990s marks a point in American history that hasn't been seen since before the Civil War. This reflects not only the consolidation of farms into larger agribusinesses but also broader economic shifts occurring within the agricultural sector. During the 19th century, especially before the Civil War, the U.S. had a much larger number of smaller farms, driven by an agrarian economy. As the country industrialized and urbanized over the ensuing decades, smaller farms gradually diminished in number, with a trend towards larger farming operations beginning to emerge. The 1990s figure encapsulates this enduring transformation, indicating a point at which agricultural structures had drastically changed from those of earlier periods. Examining the other time frames provided reveals that while there were notable declines in farm counts during World War II and the Great Depression, these periods did not result in such a historically low number as was recorded in the 1990s. Simply put, the number of farms had not dropped below 2 million in these earlier decades, making the pre-Civil War comparison significant and accurate.