Farm Census

Houston County, Alabama

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

616 farms187,714 acres in farms$112 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Houston County ranks third for peanuts.

Within Alabama, no other county with a published figure has more vegetables.

Producers under 35 make up the fourth-smallest share of the farming population among the 2,346 counties with at least 500 producers.

Poultry and eggs: 28.4%Poultry and eggs28.4%Hay and other crops: 24.1%Hay and other crops24.1%Cotton: 19.2%Cotton19.2%Vegetables and melons: 13.2%Vegetables and melons13.2%Cattle and calves: 7.7%7.7%Grains and oilseeds: 4.3%4.3%Withheld groups: 0.9%0.9%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.9%0.9%Horses and mules: 0.7%0.7%Fruit and nuts: 0.5%0.5%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: 28.4%Poultry and eggs28.4%Hay and other crops: 24.1%24.1%Cotton: 19.2%Cotton19.2%Vegetables and melons: 13.2%13.2%Cattle and calves: 7.7%Cattle and calves7.7%Grains and oilseeds: 4.3%4.3%Withheld groups: 0.9%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.9%Horses and mules: 0.7%Fruit and nuts: 0.5%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: milk, aquaculture products and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Poultry and eggs$31.9 million30th of 58
Hay and other crops$27.0 million1st of 67
Cotton and cottonseed$21.5 million4th of 38
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$14.8 million2nd of 50
Cattle and calves$8.6 million22nd of 62
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$4.9 million26th of 56
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$990,00030th of 43
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$755,0001st of 50
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$611,00013th of 47
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$51,00035th of 56
Hogs and pigs$6,00018th of 26

What the fields held

Houston County harvested 85,899 acres of cropland in 2022, sixth of 67 counties in Alabama. Peanuts covered acreage equal to 37% of that, cotton 37%.

CropAcresShare of US
Peanuts31,9572.2%
Cotton31,5690.41%
Hay and haylage10,486under 0.1%
Vegetables5,0180.12%
Corn for grain4,249under 0.1%
Soybeans1,880under 0.1%
Orchard land461under 0.1%
of which grapes11under 0.1%
of which citrus63under 0.1%
Oats164under 0.1%
Berries5under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: wheat, potatoes and pecans.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms50.6%

Houston County ranks second of 67 counties in Alabama on this measure.

  • 113,408 acres of cropland, 60% of farmland
  • 36,902 acres of pastureland, 20% of farmland
  • 40,333 acres of woodland, 21% of farmland
  • 9,530 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Houston County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 85 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 305 acres, 21st-largest of 67 in Alabama. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 34.9% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 9.1% of the total.

1–98%10–4926%50–17935%180–49917%500–9995%1,000–1,9995%2,000+4%
Houston County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Broilers sold in 20224,040,078under 0.1%
Cattle and calves20,281under 0.1%
Goats572under 0.1%
Horses and ponies309under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs324under 0.1%
Laying hens1,489under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs81under 0.1%
Turkeys8under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows and milk cows.

Who farms here

Decisions on Houston County's 616 farms are made by 960 producers. Their average age is 60.7, 2.0 years above the Alabama average. Women are 36.8% of them.

Under 352%35–4412%45–5419%55–6425%65–7424%75+17%
Houston County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms698−11.7%
Land in farms, acres148,526+26.4%
Average farm size, acres213+43.2%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$69.7 million+60.9%
Peanuts, acres26,621+20.0%
Cotton, acres17,389+81.5%
Vegetables, acres7,132−29.6%
Cattle and calves, head21,592−6.1%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Houston County accounts for 1.2% of farm sales in Alabama and 1.6% of the farms in Alabama. Rank Alabama counties for peanuts.

Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.