The 2007 Census of Agriculture, which was released in early February, was reported by the mainstream media as a good day for farming. Like most news stories, however, the numbers depended upon the spin given to them.

The headlines on the government news releases crowed about the growing number of U.S. farms and their developing diversity. Indeed, between 2002 and 2007, the number of farms in the country grew 4 percent to 2.2 million, a net increase of nearly 76,000 farms.

In Washington, the story is similar, with farm numbers growing from 35,939 in 2002 to 39,284 in 2007, a 9 percent increase. Get down to the nitty gritty of wheat farming, however, and a different story begins to emerge, a story that's important for Eastern Washington farmers and landlords to understand as they go forward.

Acreage in wheat farms in Eastern Washington has declined, by about 500,000 acres between 1997 and 2007 to the 2 million acres in production today. But the 18 percent drop in acreage (most of which can be ascribed to land retirement through the Conservation Reserve Program) is hardly of the same magnitude as the reduction in the number of operating wheat farms.

In just 10 years, wheat farm numbers plummeted from 4,416 to 2,612, a 40 percent drop. That compounds a similar drop during the decade from 1987 to 1997 when another 1,500 farms were lost. In all, during the last 20 years, Washington has lost nearly 3,000 wheat farms.

Eastern Washington is hardly alone. In the last 20 years, Oregon has lost 48 percent of its wheat farms, Idaho, 47 percent, and California, 43 percent. Even the country's biggest wheat states have seen declines. Texas wheat farm numbers are down 40 percent in a decade, Oklahoma, 41 percent, and Kansas, 29 percent.

The reason for the decline in wheat farms can be summed up in one word: consolidation. Another statistic helps put that in perspective. In 2002, 2,100 farms in Eastern Washington accounted for 75 percent of the wheat production. Five years later, in 2007, 1,600 farms accounted for 75 percent of wheat production.

Statewide, almost 15 million acres of ground was in some sort of agricultural production in 2007 with an average farm size of 381 acres. In terms of sales value, almost half of all farms—18,443—sold less than $2,500 worth of goods. At the other end of the spectrum, just 2,436 farms sold $500,000 or more.

The average age of a farmer in the state is 57, but the Census of Agriculture breaks down the number further. If you believe the wisdom of age offers perks, go to Douglas County, where the average grower is 59.8 years of age. If you think youth is the answer, Franklin County should be your destination. Average age there is 55.

Looking at age groupings, another statistic pops out. The bracket with the most farmers is 70 years and over. More than 6,500 farmers fell in this septuagenarian category in 2007. Another 4,050 farmers were between 65 and 69, and 5,500 were 60 to 64. Compare that with the age grouping 25 to 34, in which only 1,535 farmers were counted.

The Census also breaks down farm numbers by congressional district. There were a reported 1,892 farms of more than 1,000 acres in Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers 5th Congressional District, the largest number of big farms in any district in the state. But Rep. Doc Hastings' 4th District had the largest total number of farms at 11,446. McMorris Rodgers' district also wins for most farms with land in CRP at 1,480. Nearly 900 farms had 100 acres or more in CRP.

Determining exactly how well Washington farmers are doing is an inexact science. Consider that in 1982, the estimated market value of land and buildings per farm was $423,352. Fast forward 25 years to 2007 and the estimated market value is $759,000. That $300,000 plus rise in value might appear like a paying proposition, but the Census doesn't take inflation into consideration. Place the 1982 number in an inflation calculator that you can find on the Web, and if a farmer had only kept up with the cost of living his estimated market value should have risen to $898,408. In other words, the argument could be made that the average farmer lost $140,000 worth of his real estate equity in 25 years.