The Chronicles Of Grant County
Agriculture In Grant County
There were 334 farms operating in Grant County in 2022. (The map was provided courtesy of the United States Department of Agriculture, 2024.)
There was a decrease in the number of farms in Grant County during the ten years from 2012 to 2022. There was also a steady decrease in the amount of acreage used for agricultural purposes in Grant County during the same time period.
In 2022, there were 334 farms in Grant County. This was a 17% reduction in the number of farms from 2017 when there were 404 farms in the county. The number of farms in 2017 was 1% less than the number of farms in 2012 in Grant County.
A total of 96% of these farms were family farms in 2022; the percentage was 97% in 2017.
These statistics – and other statistics detailed in this news series – are from reports issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The USDA conducts its Census of Agriculture every five years. The results of the 2022 Census, the most recent one completed, were released earlier in 2024. This series of news columns includes information from that Census as well as the 2017 and 2012 Censuses of Agriculture.
Please note that the USDA redacted certain information from these reports.
Farms in Grant County included a total of 794,499 acres of land in 2022. This amount of acreage was an 11% reduction in ground used by farms from 2017 when 893,980 acres were used by farms in the county. That amount of acreage in 2017 was 16% less than the amount of acreage used by farms in Grant County in 2012.
The average size of a farm in Grant County in 2022 increased by 7% from the average size of a farm in 2017. In 2022, the average size of a farm in the county was 2,379 acres; in 2017, it was 2,213 acres. That average size of a farm in 2017 reflected a 15% decrease in the average size of a farm in the county from 2012.
One-fourth (25%) of the farms in Grant County each included more than 1,000 acres in 2022; 85 farms were in this category. About one-third (30%) of the farms each included 50 to 179 acres in that year; 101 farms fit in that category. About 10% of the farms in the county each included one to nine acres in 2022; 34 farms were in that category.
Five years earlier, in 2017, the percentage (25%) was the same for farms each with more than 1,000 acres in Grant County and was similar (28%) for farms each with 50 to 179 acres. The numbers of farms were different because there were more farms in 2017 than in 2022: 102 farms each had more than 1,000 acres and 114 farms each had between 50 and 179 acres in the county in 2017. Farms with one to nine acres each (68 farms) represented 17% of all farms in Grant County in 2017.
The market value of products sold by farms in Grant County was $15,602,000 in 2022. This was a 6% increase from the market value of products sold by farms five years earlier. Then, the market value of products sold by farms in the county was $14,748,000; that value was a 1% increase from the market value of products sold in 2012.
More than half of the farms in Grant County had sales valued at less than $2,500 in 2022; 185 farms (55% of the total number of farms) fit in this category. In 2017, less than half of the farms in the county had sales valued at less than $2,500; 180 farms (45% of the total number of farms) were in that category.
Seven percent of the farms in Grant County – 24 farms – each had sales valued at more than $100,000 in 2022. This was the same number of farms that had sales of that level in the county in 2017. Due to the fact that there were more farms overall in 2017, the same number – 24 farms – represented 6% of the farms in the county in that year.
Of the $15,602,000 in market value of products sold by farms in Grant County in 2022, $1,269,000 were in crops and $14,333,000 were in livestock, poultry, and products.
The largest category of crops was "other crops and hay"; products sold in this category were valued at $429,000 in 2022. Other large categories of crops sold in this year were fruits, tree nuts, and berries (valued at $275,000) and nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod (valued at $246,000).
The largest category of livestock, poultry, and products was cattle and calves; products in this category were valued at $13,944,000 in 2022. Other categories within this group in that year included sheep, goats, wool, mohair, and milk (valued at $215,000) and horses, ponies, mules, burros, and donkeys (valued at $131,000).
Of the $14,748,000 in market value of products sold by farms in Grant County in 2017, $618,000 were in crops and $14,131,000 were in livestock, poultry, and products.
The largest category of crops was "other crops and hay"; products sold in this category were valued at $289,000 in 2017. Other large categories of crops sold in that year were grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas (valued at $154,000) and fruits, tree nuts, and berries (valued at $121,000).
The largest category of livestock, poultry, and products was cattle and calves; products in this category were valued at $13,822,000 in 2017. Other categories within this group in that year included horses, ponies, mules, burros, and donkeys (valued at $208,000) and sheep, goats, wool, mohair, and milk (valued at $45,000).
Government payments to farms in Grant County increased 254% from $945,000 in 2017 to $3,349,000 in 2022. The government payments in 2017 were 29% less than the government payments made to farms in the county in 2012.
Net cash income of farms in Grant County decreased 55% from 2017 to 2022. Net cash farm income was $1,497,000 in 2022 and $3,318,000 in 2017. The net cash farm income in 2017 was 313% higher than the net cash farm income in 2012.
There were 646 producers of agricultural products in Grant County in 2022. Of that number, 348 were male and 298 were female. Of the total number of producers, 344 were 65 years of age or older and 639 were White. One hundred and seventy of the total number of producers were new and beginning farmers, 50 of the total had served in the United States military, and 127 of the total were of Hispanic origin.
There were 777 producers of agricultural products in Grant County in 2017. Of that number, 438 were male and 339 were female. Of the total number of producers, 337 were 65 years of age or older and 773 were White. Two hundred of the total number of producers were new and beginning farmers, 103 of the total had served in the United States military, and 140 of the total were of Hispanic origin.
As of December 31, 2022, there were 27,976 cattle and calves, 925 egg-laying chickens, 816 horses and ponies, 283 goats, 76 hogs and pigs, 48 sheep and lambs, and 36 pullets in Grant County.
As of December 31, 2017, there were 27,059 cattle and calves, 1,016 horses and ponies, 256 goats, 213 pullets, and 188 sheep and lambs in Grant County.
Information on agriculture in Luna County will be detailed next week in Part Two of this news series, while details on agriculture in Hidalgo County will be included in Part Three and information on agriculture in Catron County will be included in Part Four of this news series.
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