Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media New York is losing farms at an unprecedented rate, according to the latest report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The department's 2017 Agriculture Census was released last week and revealed some startling statistics. New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher said the most startling statistic shows the state lost more than 2,000 farms since 2012. “This is the largest drop in more than two decades and...triple the national average of a 3 percent loss,” Fisher said in a statement. The census found the dairy industry took a hard hit, reporting a 20 percent decline. However, the news was not all bad. The USDA reported an increase of 35 percent in the number of organic farms, a 2 percent increase in vegetable farms, an 8 percent increase in fruit farms, and the number of maple farms increased 15 percent over a five-year period. The report put the age of the average farmer at 55.8 years old. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.