Farm Census

Merced County, California

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

2,047 farms872,326 acres in farms$3.98 billion in farm sales

Merced County ranks fifth of 3,029 US counties for the value of farm products sold in 2022; its crop sales rank tenth and its livestock and poultry sales second.

Among counties with published figures, it also ranks second for milk cows and corn for silage, third for cattle and calves, fourth for almonds, fifth for sales of cotton and seventh for orchard land.

Within California, no other county with a published figure has more laying hens or goats.

Milk: 40.9%Milk40.9%Fruit and nuts: 17.8%Fruit and nuts17.8%Vegetables and melons: 15.4%Vegetables and melons15.4%Poultry and eggs: 12.6%Poultry and eggs12.6%Cattle and calves: 5.2%5.2%Hay and other crops: 2.7%2.7%Cotton: 2.5%Cotton2.5%Grains and oilseeds: 2.3%2.3%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.5%Other animals: 0.1%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Aquaculture: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Milk: 40.9%Milk40.9%Fruit and nuts: 17.8%Fruit and nuts17.8%Vegetables and melons: 15.4%Vegetables and melons15.4%Poultry and eggs: 12.6%Poultry and eggs12.6%Cattle and calves: 5.2%5.2%Hay and other crops: 2.7%2.7%Cotton: 2.5%2.5%Grains and oilseeds: 2.3%2.3%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.5%Other animals: 0.1%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Aquaculture: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Christmas trees: 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$1.63 billion2nd of 19
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$710 million10th of 52
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$612 million5th of 48
Poultry and eggs$500 million1st of 41
Cattle and calves$206 million5th of 52
Hay and other crops$106 million5th of 43
Cotton and cottonseed$100 million3rd of 6
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$92.0 million9th of 34
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$19.1 million22nd of 43
Other animals and animal products$4.6 million9th of 36
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$3.4 million8th of 45
Aquaculture$1.8 million9th of 11
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$504,00023rd of 47
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$121,00010th of 18
Hogs and pigs$5,00025th of 26

What the fields held

Merced County harvested 495,422 acres of cropland in 2022, sixth of 54 counties in California. Orchard land covered acreage equal to 44% of that, hay and haylage 27%.

CropAcresShare of US
Orchard land218,1413.5%
of which almonds163,83110.0%
of which grapes15,0501.4%
of which citrus1,2250.16%
Hay and haylage135,1560.25%
Corn for silage98,7151.7%
Vegetables64,4641.5%
Cotton33,3180.43%
Wheat4,112under 0.1%
Corn for grain3,654under 0.1%
Oats1,1550.13%
Barley654under 0.1%
Rice291under 0.1%
Berries6under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: peanuts, potatoes, apples and pecans.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms70.4%

Merced County ranks fourth of 55 counties in California on this measure.

  • 550,570 acres of cropland, 63% of farmland
  • 270,194 acres of pastureland, 31% of farmland
  • 13,049 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 500,340 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Merced County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 45 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 426 acres, 22nd-largest of 52 in California. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 37.7% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 8.8% of the total.

1–914%10–4938%50–17919%180–49913%500–9998%1,000–1,9995%2,000+4%
Merced County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows288,9733.1%
Laying hens3,410,7130.88%
Cattle and calves593,1080.67%
Goats10,7690.43%
Sheep and lambs18,3160.36%
Beef cows18,9000.06%
Horses and ponies1,141under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs14under 0.1%

Withheld: broilers sold and turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Merced County's 2,047 farms are made by 3,855 producers. Their average age is 58.5, 1.4 years below the California average. Women are 32.6% of them.

Under 357%35–4415%45–5414%55–6425%65–7424%75+15%
Merced County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms2,337−12.4%
Land in farms, acres946,385−7.8%
Average farm size, acres405+5.2%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$2.94 billion+35.4%
Almonds, acres139,565+17.4%
Orchard land, acres188,083+16.0%
Milk cows, head272,534+6.0%
Corn for silage, acres83,030+18.9%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Merced County accounts for 6.7% of farm sales in California and 3.2% of the farms in California. Rank California counties for almonds.

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