Okeechobee County, Florida
Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture
535 farms325,257 acres in farms$302 million in farm sales
Among US counties with published figures, Okeechobee County ranks eighth for beef cows.
Within Florida, no other county with a published figure has more cattle and calves or milk cows, or sells more farm products.
Its number of beef cows grew between 2017 and 2022, the second-largest increase among the 75 leading beef cow counties of 2017 with figures in both years.
Sales by product group
| Product group | Sales | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|
| Milk from cows | $174 million | 1st of 9 |
| Cattle and calves | $55.1 million | 2nd of 56 |
| Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops | $36.6 million | 20th of 55 |
| Vegetables, melons and potatoes | $4.9 million | 31st of 52 |
| Hay and other crops | $2.3 million | 26th of 49 |
| Fruit, tree nuts and berries | $2.0 million | 29th of 56 |
| Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas | $1.4 million | 17th of 37 |
| Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys | $481,000 | 17th of 50 |
| Other animals and animal products | $370,000 | 29th of 47 |
| Hogs and pigs | $146,000 | 5th of 34 |
| Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk | $68,000 | 35th of 52 |
What the fields held
Okeechobee County harvested 36,103 acres of cropland in 2022, 22nd of 62 counties in Florida. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 76% of that.
| Crop | Acres | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Hay and haylage | 27,484 | 0.05% |
| Orchard land | 1,283 | under 0.1% |
| of which citrus | 1,280 | 0.17% |
| Vegetables | 961 | under 0.1% |
| Corn for silage | 888 | under 0.1% |
| Berries | 1 | under 0.1% |
Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for grain, peanuts and sugarcane.
How much of the county is farmland
Share of the county land in farms66.1%
Okeechobee County ranks sixth of 62 counties in Florida on this measure.
- 46,684 acres of cropland, 14% of farmland
- 245,131 acres of pastureland, 75% of farmland
- 34,397 acres of woodland, 11% of farmland
- 22,329 acres irrigated
Farm sizes
The typical farm in Okeechobee County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 62 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 608 acres, fourth-largest of 61 in Florida. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 35.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 17.4% of the total.
Barns, pens and pastures
| Animals | Head | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Milk cows | 31,720 | 0.34% |
| Beef cows | 66,478 | 0.23% |
| Cattle and calves | 157,001 | 0.18% |
| Horses and ponies | 885 | under 0.1% |
| Goats | 723 | under 0.1% |
| Sheep and lambs | 224 | under 0.1% |
| Turkeys | 160 | under 0.1% |
| Hogs and pigs | 80 | under 0.1% |
Withheld: laying hens and broilers sold.
Who farms here
Decisions on Okeechobee County's 535 farms are made by 1,002 producers. Their average age is 59.9, 0.4 years above the Florida average. Women are 36.9% of them.
Five years earlier
| Measure | 2017 | Change to 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Farms | 599 | −10.7% |
| Land in farms, acres | 297,439 | +9.4% |
| Average farm size, acres | 497 | +22.3% |
| Farm products sold (current dollars) | $236 million | +28.2% |
| Milk cows, head | 32,335 | −1.9% |
| Beef cows, head | 50,487 | +31.7% |
| Cattle and calves, head | 133,975 | +17.2% |
| Hay and haylage, acres | 15,491 | +77.4% |
Nearest rivals
- Milk cows between Jasper County, IN and Addison County, VT
- Beef cows between Lavaca County, TX and Osceola County, FL
- Cattle and calves between Morrill County, NE and Roosevelt County, NM
- Citrus between Orange County, FL and Merced County, CA
Counties with a similar sales mix
- Erath County, Texas largest group: milk; mix match 99%
- Ada County, Idaho largest group: milk; mix match 98%
- Comanche County, Texas largest group: milk; mix match 98%
Okeechobee County accounts for 3.0% of farm sales in Florida and 1.2% of the farms in Florida. Rank Florida counties for milk cows.
Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.