Farm Census

Stanislaus County, California

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

3,455 farms685,145 acres in farms$2.92 billion in farm sales

Stanislaus County ranks eighth of 3,029 US counties for the value of farm products sold in 2022.

Among counties with published figures, it also ranks third for almonds, fourth for milk cows, fifth for orchard land, seventh for corn for silage, ninth for producers and tenth for cattle and calves.

Its number of laying hens shrank between 2017 and 2022, the fifth-steepest decline among the 92 leading egg-laying counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Fruit and nuts: 33.6%Fruit and nuts33.6%Milk: 31.2%Milk31.2%Poultry and eggs: 12.6%Poultry and eggs12.6%Nursery and greenhouse: 7.2%7.2%Cattle and calves: 6.3%6.3%Vegetables and melons: 5.0%5.0%Hay and other crops: 1.9%1.9%Grains and oilseeds: 1.6%1.6%Other animals: 0.2%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Hogs and pigs: 0.1%Fruit and nuts: 33.6%Fruit and nuts33.6%Milk: 31.2%Milk31.2%Poultry and eggs: 12.6%12.6%Nursery and greenhouse: 7.2%7.2%Cattle and calves: 6.3%6.3%Vegetables and melons: 5.0%5.0%Hay and other crops: 1.9%1.9%Grains and oilseeds: 1.6%1.6%Other animals: 0.2%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Hogs and pigs: 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: horses and mules and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$980 million9th of 52
Milk from cows$911 million3rd of 19
Poultry and eggs$369 million3rd of 41
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$211 million5th of 43
Cattle and calves$184 million7th of 52
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$145 million16th of 48
Hay and other crops$56.9 million13th of 43
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$46.9 million12th of 34
Other animals and animal products$6.8 million5th of 36
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$4.8 million4th of 45
Hogs and pigs$2.6 million1st of 26

What the fields held

Stanislaus County harvested 405,010 acres of cropland in 2022, seventh of 54 counties in California. Orchard land covered acreage equal to 74% of that, hay and haylage 17%.

CropAcresShare of US
Orchard land298,5794.8%
of which almonds238,19014.6%
of which grapes11,7481.1%
of which citrus7480.10%
of which apples9740.24%
of which pecans68under 0.1%
Hay and haylage67,7330.13%
Corn for silage49,1630.82%
Vegetables12,8970.30%
Wheat373under 0.1%
Corn for grain315under 0.1%
Dry edible beans267under 0.1%
Berries55under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: rice.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms71.6%

Stanislaus County ranks third of 55 counties in California on this measure.

  • 432,109 acres of cropland, 63% of farmland
  • 200,607 acres of pastureland, 29% of farmland
  • 4,117 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 412,711 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Stanislaus County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 25 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 198 acres, 40th-largest of 52 in California. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 41.0% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 4.0% of the total.

1–924%10–4941%50–17917%180–4999%500–9994%1,000–1,9992%2,000+2%
Stanislaus County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows153,9121.7%
Broilers sold in 202250,162,6420.55%
Cattle and calves406,8350.46%
Goats8,4940.34%
Laying hens972,9240.25%
Beef cows34,4170.12%
Sheep and lambs5,0490.10%
Horses and ponies2,3300.10%
Hogs and pigs6,428under 0.1%

Withheld: turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Stanislaus County's 3,455 farms are made by 6,563 producers. Their average age is 58.6, 1.3 years below the California average. Women are 34.1% of them.

Under 358%35–4413%45–5414%55–6426%65–7424%75+14%
Stanislaus County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms3,621−4.6%
Land in farms, acres722,546−5.2%
Average farm size, acres200−1.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$2.53 billion+15.6%
Almonds, acres183,882+29.5%
Orchard land, acres246,681+21.0%
Milk cows, head183,496−16.1%
Grapes, acres10,559+11.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Stanislaus County accounts for 4.9% of farm sales in California and 5.5% of the farms in California. Rank California counties for almonds.

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