AGRICULTURE

Number of Farms Still Shrinking: The nation’s mid-size farmers continue to abandon their land by the thousands at the same time mini-farms and ranches are sprouting up in the suburbs, the Agriculture Department reports. A USDA study shows the overall number of farms is still declining, especially operations generally associated with commercial family farmers. And the average size of the American farm keeps growing. Activists and congressional Democrats used the department’s report to rap the Reagan-Bush farm policies of the past 12 years. They contend the numbers are another indication that federal policies are squeezing out family farmers and allowing large agribusinesses to take their place.