Farm Census

Pinal County, Arizona

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

718 farms1,476,279 acres in farms$1.17 billion in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Pinal County ranks eighth for sales of cotton.

Within Arizona, no other county with a published figure has more cattle and calves.

Cattle and calves: 34.4%Cattle and calves34.4%Milk: 34.2%Milk34.2%Hay and other crops: 11.6%Hay and other crops11.6%Cotton: 7.4%Cotton7.4%Grains and oilseeds: 6.5%6.5%Nursery and greenhouse: 4.4%4.4%Fruit and nuts: 0.9%0.9%Vegetables and melons: 0.5%0.5%Other animals: 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Cattle and calves: 34.4%Cattle and calves34.4%Milk: 34.2%Milk34.2%Hay and other crops: 11.6%11.6%Cotton: 7.4%Cotton7.4%Grains and oilseeds: 6.5%6.5%Nursery and greenhouse: 4.4%4.4%Fruit and nuts: 0.9%Vegetables and melons: 0.5%Other animals: 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$402 million1st of 10
Milk from cows$400 million2nd of 3
Hay and other crops$136 million2nd of 15
Cotton and cottonseed$86.1 million1st of 4
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$75.6 million1st of 10
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$50.9 million2nd of 8
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$11.0 million3rd of 9
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$5.8 million4th of 11
Other animals and animal products$771,0002nd of 8
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$582,0006th of 12
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$537,0009th of 13
Poultry and eggs$294,0003rd of 11
Hogs and pigs$61,0004th of 6

What the fields held

Pinal County harvested 202,430 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 13 counties in Arizona. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 42% of that, cotton 28%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage85,7270.16%
Cotton56,8150.73%
Corn for silage26,1700.44%
Wheat23,6020.06%
Barley6,6830.27%
Orchard land3,7730.06%
of which apples20under 0.1%
Vegetables1,763under 0.1%
Grain sorghum314under 0.1%
Berries2under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for grain, oats, dry edible beans, potatoes, citrus, pecans and grapes.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms43.0%

Pinal County ranks fifth of 15 counties in Arizona on this measure.

  • 295,876 acres of cropland, 20% of farmland
  • 1,153,608 acres of pastureland, 78% of farmland
  • 554 acres of woodland, under 0.1% of farmland
  • 210,091 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Pinal County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 38 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 2,056 acres, seventh-largest of 14 in Arizona. The most common size class is 1–9 acres, with 38.4% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 15.2% of the total.

1–938%10–4914%50–17913%180–4998%500–99912%1,000–1,9996%2,000+9%
Pinal County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Cattle and calves273,2610.31%
Horses and ponies2,1550.09%
Goats1,5360.06%
Laying hens2,496under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs193under 0.1%
Turkeys61under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows, milk cows, broilers sold and sheep and lambs.

Who farms here

Decisions on Pinal County's 718 farms are made by 1,364 producers. Their average age is 57.0, 3.1 years below the Arizona average. Women are 36.8% of them.

Under 358%35–4414%45–5419%55–6423%65–7426%75+10%
Pinal County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms762−5.8%
Land in farms, acres1,120,637+31.7%
Average farm size, acres1,471+39.8%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$862 million+35.7%
Cotton, acres88,107−35.5%
Corn for silage, acres17,312+51.2%
Cattle and calves, head294,237−7.1%
Barley, acres9,073−26.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Pinal County accounts for 22.5% of farm sales in Arizona and 4.3% of the farms in Arizona. Rank Arizona counties for cotton.

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