Farm Census

Ventura County, California

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,812 farms300,567 acres in farms$2.13 billion in farm sales

Ventura County ranks eighth of 2,953 US counties for crop sales in 2022.

Among counties with published figures, it also ranks third for berries, fourth for sales of fruit and nuts, seventh for citrus and tenth for sales of nursery and greenhouse crops.

Fruit and nuts: 69.4%Fruit and nuts69.4%Vegetables and melons: 18.0%Vegetables and melons18.0%Nursery and greenhouse: 11.5%Nursery and greenhouse11.5%Hay and other crops: 0.5%Other animals: 0.3%Cattle and calves: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: 69.4%Fruit and nuts69.4%Vegetables and melons: 18.0%Vegetables and melons18.0%Nursery and greenhouse: 11.5%11.5%Hay and other crops: 0.5%Other animals: 0.3%Cattle and calves: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: grains and oilseeds, Christmas trees, hogs and pigs and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$1.48 billion4th of 52
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$384 million9th of 48
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$244 million4th of 43
Hay and other crops$11.2 million21st of 43
Other animals and animal products$6.0 million7th of 36
Cattle and calves$2.3 million46th of 52
Poultry and eggs$693,00017th of 41
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$433,00026th of 47
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$34,00042nd of 45

What the fields held

Ventura County harvested 98,145 acres of cropland in 2022, 24th of 54 counties in California. Orchard land covered acreage equal to 47% of that, vegetables 35%.

CropAcresShare of US
Orchard land46,2120.74%
of which grapes105under 0.1%
of which citrus25,8853.4%
of which apples13under 0.1%
Vegetables34,7370.81%
Berries17,4434.9%
Hay and haylage1,500under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: potatoes.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms25.5%

Ventura County ranks 33rd of 55 counties in California on this measure.

  • 139,944 acres of cropland, 47% of farmland
  • 158,128 acres of pastureland, 53% of farmland
  • 7,262 acres of woodland, 2% of farmland
  • 96,124 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Ventura County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 17 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 166 acres, 42nd-largest of 52 in California. The most common size class is 1–9 acres, with 41.3% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 3.1% of the total.

1–941%10–4933%50–17913%180–4998%500–9992%1,000–1,9991%2,000+2%
Ventura County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Horses and ponies2,2890.09%
Goats714under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs497under 0.1%
Beef cows2,142under 0.1%
Cattle and calves3,453under 0.1%
Laying hens5,416under 0.1%
Turkeys176under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs127under 0.1%
Milk cows10under 0.1%

Withheld: broilers sold.

Who farms here

Decisions on Ventura County's 1,812 farms are made by 3,466 producers. Their average age is 61.6, 1.7 years above the California average. Women are 37.0% of them.

Under 356%35–449%45–5415%55–6421%65–7427%75+22%
Ventura County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms2,135−15.1%
Land in farms, acres260,102+15.6%
Average farm size, acres122+36.1%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$1.63 billion+30.3%
Berries, acres12,667+37.7%
Citrus, acres28,862−10.3%
Vegetables, acres40,285−13.8%
Orchard land, acres50,616−8.7%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Ventura County accounts for 3.6% of farm sales in California and 2.9% of the farms in California. Rank California counties for berries.

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