Gooding County, Idaho
Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture
499 farms212,600 acres in farms$1.12 billion in farm sales
Among US counties with published figures, Gooding County ranks third for milk cows and ninth for corn for silage.
Within Idaho, no other county with a published figure has more cattle and calves, or sells more farm products.
Sales by product group
| Product group | Sales | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|
| Milk from cows | $825 million | 1st of 19 |
| Cattle and calves | $145 million | 4th of 33 |
| Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas | $71.4 million | 9th of 30 |
| Hay and other crops | $45.2 million | 8th of 41 |
| Vegetables, melons and potatoes | $19.3 million | 13th of 30 |
| Aquaculture | $7.4 million | 3rd of 6 |
| Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk | $2.9 million | 4th of 34 |
| Other animals and animal products | $744,000 | 6th of 19 |
| Hogs and pigs | $2,000 | 23rd of 23 |
What the fields held
Gooding County harvested 125,314 acres of cropland in 2022, 15th of 42 counties in Idaho. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 36% of that, corn for silage 35%.
| Crop | Acres | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Hay and haylage | 45,541 | 0.08% |
| Corn for silage | 44,114 | 0.74% |
| Corn for grain | 14,883 | under 0.1% |
| Barley | 7,241 | 0.30% |
| Wheat | 7,047 | under 0.1% |
| Vegetables | 4,088 | 0.09% |
| of which potatoes | 3,789 | 0.35% |
| Sugar beets | 1,886 | 0.16% |
| Oats | 420 | under 0.1% |
| Orchard land | 15 | under 0.1% |
| of which grapes | 9 | under 0.1% |
Withheld to protect individual farms: dry edible beans, apples and berries.
How much of the county is farmland
Share of the county land in farms45.5%
Gooding County ranks 15th of 44 counties in Idaho on this measure.
- 140,588 acres of cropland, 66% of farmland
- 61,380 acres of pastureland, 29% of farmland
- 1,990 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
- 132,731 acres irrigated
Farm sizes
The typical farm in Gooding County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 45 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 426 acres, 26th-largest of 42 in Idaho. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 28.7% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 9.0% of the total.
Barns, pens and pastures
| Animals | Head | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Milk cows | 165,205 | 1.8% |
| Cattle and calves | 346,237 | 0.39% |
| Goats | 1,328 | 0.05% |
| Horses and ponies | 838 | under 0.1% |
| Beef cows | 9,787 | under 0.1% |
| Laying hens | 556 | under 0.1% |
| Turkeys | 36 | under 0.1% |
| Hogs and pigs | 24 | under 0.1% |
Withheld: broilers sold and sheep and lambs.
Who farms here
Decisions on Gooding County's 499 farms are made by 952 producers. Their average age is 54.5, 2.1 years below the Idaho average. Women are 33.5% of them.
Five years earlier
| Measure | 2017 | Change to 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Farms | 538 | −7.2% |
| Land in farms, acres | 188,353 | +12.9% |
| Average farm size, acres | 350 | +21.7% |
| Farm products sold (current dollars) | $783 million | +42.7% |
| Milk cows, head | 162,866 | +1.4% |
| Corn for silage, acres | 56,767 | −22.3% |
| Cattle and calves, head | 318,333 | +8.8% |
| Potatoes, acres | 3,805 | −0.4% |
Nearest rivals
- Milk cows between Merced County, CA and Stanislaus County, CA
- Corn for silage between Parmer County, TX and Twin Falls County, ID
- Cattle and calves between Cuming County, NE and Cherry County, NE
- Potatoes between Klamath County, OR and Canyon County, ID
Counties with a similar sales mix
- Menominee County, Michigan largest group: milk; mix match 99%
- Cattaraugus County, New York largest group: milk; mix match 99%
- Lewis County, New York largest group: milk; mix match 99%
Gooding County accounts for 10.3% of farm sales in Idaho and 2.2% of the farms in Idaho. Rank Idaho counties for milk cows.
Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.