Farm Census

Madera County, California

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,255 farms693,611 acres in farms$2.01 billion in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Madera County ranks fifth for almonds, sixth for orchard land and seventh for grapes.

Its largest product group with a published figure, fruit and nuts, makes up 56.2% of farm sales, against 39.2% across California.

Fruit and nuts: 56.2%Fruit and nuts56.2%Milk: 22.8%Milk22.8%Withheld groups: 12.6%Withheld groups12.6%Cattle and calves: 4.0%4.0%Vegetables and melons: 2.6%2.6%Hay and other crops: 0.8%0.8%Grains and oilseeds: 0.6%0.6%Aquaculture: 0.2%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: 56.2%Fruit and nuts56.2%Milk: 22.8%Milk22.8%Withheld groups: 12.6%Withheld groups12.6%Cattle and calves: 4.0%4.0%Vegetables and melons: 2.6%2.6%Hay and other crops: 0.8%Grains and oilseeds: 0.6%Aquaculture: 0.2%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: nursery and greenhouse crops, cotton, poultry and eggs and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$1.13 billion8th of 52
Milk from cows$456 million8th of 19
Cattle and calves$81.1 million9th of 52
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$52.8 million21st of 48
Hay and other crops$17.0 million18th of 43
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$12.0 million16th of 34
Aquaculture$3.1 million7th of 11
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$1.4 million16th of 45
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$434,00025th of 47
Hogs and pigs$25,00020th of 26

What the fields held

Madera County harvested 326,426 acres of cropland in 2022, ninth of 54 counties in California. Orchard land covered acreage equal to 85% of that, hay and haylage 9%.

CropAcresShare of US
Orchard land275,9834.4%
of which almonds148,7899.1%
of which grapes55,9895.1%
of which citrus7,1400.93%
of which apples25under 0.1%
Hay and haylage28,5380.05%
Corn for silage21,4000.36%
Vegetables4,6820.11%
Wheat1,835under 0.1%
Oats150under 0.1%
Berries13under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for grain, cotton, barley, dry edible beans and pecans.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms50.7%

Madera County ranks 12th of 55 counties in California on this measure.

  • 390,554 acres of cropland, 56% of farmland
  • 280,206 acres of pastureland, 40% of farmland
  • 19,744 acres of woodland, 3% of farmland
  • 333,171 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Madera County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 80 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 553 acres, 15th-largest of 52 in California. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 28.4% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 14.3% of the total.

1–910%10–4928%50–17927%180–49913%500–9997%1,000–1,9997%2,000+8%
Madera County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows78,2620.84%
Cattle and calves195,3780.22%
Goats2,4070.10%
Beef cows20,3580.07%
Horses and ponies1,5930.07%
Sheep and lambs3,0960.06%
Hogs and pigs112under 0.1%

Withheld: laying hens, broilers sold and turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Madera County's 1,255 farms are made by 2,459 producers. Their average age is 58.7, 1.2 years below the California average. Women are 31.9% of them.

Under 357%35–4413%45–5416%55–6425%65–7424%75+15%
Madera County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,386−9.5%
Land in farms, acres645,358+7.5%
Average farm size, acres466+18.7%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$1.49 billion+34.3%
Almonds, acres126,163+17.9%
Grapes, acres60,406−7.3%
Orchard land, acres244,980+12.7%
Citrus, acres5,716+24.9%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Madera County accounts for 3.4% of farm sales in California and 2.0% of the farms in California. Rank California counties for almonds.

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