More Livestock Likely Live In Grant County Than The Number Of People Residing Here

The Chronicles Of Grant County

cattle grant county steve douglas flickr march 5 2010 50

A little one getting nutrition from mom.
(The photograph was provided courtesy of Steve Douglas, March 5, 2010.)

There may be more livestock living in Grant County than people residing here.

We'll know better likely sometime later this year as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is scheduled to begin releasing results of the 2022 Census of Agriculture.

The 2017 Census of Agriculture indicated that there were 27,059 cattle and calves in Grant County. This census includes the number of animals as of December 31, 2017; it is the most recent census officially released by the USDA for the population of livestock in this county.

The population trend of cattle and calves in Grant County has been increasing with each new census, though the results of the census from 2017 only showed a slight increase from the previous census in 2012.

In the 2012 Census of Agriculture, there were 27,000 cattle and calves in Grant County; in the 2007 Census of Agriculture, there were 25,399 cattle and calves in this county.

While the population trend of cattle and calves has been on the upswing, the trend in the population of people in Grant County has been on the decrease with each new census.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the estimated population of Grant County was 27,686 people as of July 1, 2022.

That's a decrease, according to the U S Census Bureau, from the official census of 28,185 as of April 1, 2020, and from the official census of 29,514 as of April 1, 2010.

The difference between the census of the human population locally and the number of livestock living here is likely much larger.

When additional types of livestock – beyond cattle and calves – are considered, there are likely more animals living on ranches and farms in Grant County than people throughout this county.

The USDA reported in its 2017 Census of Agriculture that there were also 256 goats, 1,106 horses and ponies, 213 pullets, and 188 sheep and lambs living in Grant County.

Please note that the number of livestock living in Grant County in 2017 was even higher than these numbers suggest; in 2017, the numbers of chickens, some hens, hogs, pigs, and turkeys living in this county were not released by the USDA.

And the USDA only counts livestock in its censuses – not all animals.

Bears, cougars, coyotes, wolves, and other animals that are not raised on farms and ranches are not counted in the USDA censuses. Cats, dogs, and other domesticated animals also are not included in the censuses released by the USDA.

Do you have questions about communities in Grant County?

A street name? A building?

Your questions may be used in a future news column.

Contact Richard McDonough at chroniclesofgrantcounty@mail.com.

If your email does not go through, please contact editor@grantcountybeat.com.