Farm Census

Kings County, California

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

862 farms593,199 acres in farms$2.13 billion in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Kings County leads the country in sales of cotton, ranks fifth for milk cows, sixth for corn for silage, eighth for orchard land and tenth for almonds.

Its largest product group, milk, makes up 40.0% of farm sales, against 16.4% across California.

Milk: 40.0%Milk40.0%Fruit and nuts: 23.2%Fruit and nuts23.2%Vegetables and melons: 10.0%Vegetables and melons10.0%Cattle and calves: 9.2%Cattle and calves9.2%Cotton: 8.1%Cotton8.1%Grains and oilseeds: 4.5%4.5%Hay and other crops: 4.3%4.3%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Poultry and eggs: 0.2%Other animals: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Milk: 40.0%Milk40.0%Fruit and nuts: 23.2%Fruit and nuts23.2%Vegetables and melons: 10.0%10.0%Cattle and calves: 9.2%9.2%Cotton: 8.1%Cotton8.1%Grains and oilseeds: 4.5%4.5%Hay and other crops: 4.3%4.3%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Poultry and eggs: 0.2%Other animals: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: 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
Milk from cows$854 million4th of 19
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$495 million14th of 52
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$214 million13th of 48
Cattle and calves$196 million6th of 52
Cotton and cottonseed$173 million1st of 6
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$95.9 million7th of 34
Hay and other crops$92.2 million8th of 43
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$4.4 million6th of 45
Poultry and eggs$3.7 million12th of 41
Other animals and animal products$2.8 million11th of 36
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$579,00019th of 47
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$343,00037th of 43
Hogs and pigs$36,00016th of 26

What the fields held

Kings County harvested 353,187 acres of cropland in 2022, eighth of 54 counties in California. Orchard land covered acreage equal to 37% of that, hay and haylage 20%.

CropAcresShare of US
Orchard land130,5482.1%
of which almonds51,0483.1%
of which grapes4,8280.44%
of which citrus6250.08%
of which pecans85under 0.1%
Hay and haylage72,3340.13%
Corn for silage49,9060.83%
Cotton49,6650.64%
Vegetables32,1080.75%
Wheat4,152under 0.1%
Grain sorghum695under 0.1%
Barley367under 0.1%
Corn for grain280under 0.1%
Oats219under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: dry edible beans and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms66.7%

Kings County ranks sixth of 55 counties in California on this measure.

  • 452,269 acres of cropland, 76% of farmland
  • 86,489 acres of pastureland, 15% of farmland
  • 2,082 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 350,462 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Kings County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 61 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 688 acres, tenth-largest of 52 in California. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 28.9% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 11.4% of the total.

1–918%10–4929%50–17917%180–49915%500–99910%1,000–1,9996%2,000+6%
Kings County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows150,6431.6%
Goats10,2270.40%
Cattle and calves324,8870.37%
Beef cows19,3980.07%
Horses and ponies609under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022721,310under 0.1%
Laying hens1,152under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs76under 0.1%
Turkeys72under 0.1%

Withheld: sheep and lambs.

Who farms here

Decisions on Kings County's 862 farms are made by 1,679 producers. Their average age is 56.5, 3.4 years below the California average. Women are 29.9% of them.

Under 3511%35–4411%45–5418%55–6425%65–7423%75+11%
Kings County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms963−10.5%
Land in farms, acres615,958−3.7%
Average farm size, acres640+7.5%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$1.65 billion+29.3%
Almonds, acres41,430+23.2%
Orchard land, acres108,233+20.6%
Milk cows, head173,404−13.1%
Corn for silage, acres38,905+28.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Kings County accounts for 3.6% of farm sales in California and 1.4% of the farms in California. Rank California counties for almonds.

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