Farm Census

Minidoka County, Idaho

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

454 farms308,562 acres in farms$547 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Minidoka County ranks third for potatoes and sugar beets and fifth for sheep and lambs.

The irrigated share of its farmland is the seventh-highest among the 2,411 counties with at least 50,000 acres in farms.

Its potato acreage grew between 2017 and 2022, the third-largest increase among the 74 leading potato counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Vegetables and melons: 31.6%Vegetables and melons31.6%Hay and other crops: 24.1%Hay and other crops24.1%Withheld groups: 22.5%Withheld groups22.5%Milk: 18.1%Milk18.1%Cattle and calves: 3.8%Cattle and calves3.8%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Vegetables and melons: 31.6%Vegetables and melons31.6%Hay and other crops: 24.1%24.1%Withheld groups: 22.5%Withheld groups22.5%Milk: 18.1%Milk18.1%Cattle and calves: 3.8%3.8%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: grains and oilseeds, fruit and nuts, nursery and greenhouse crops, hogs and pigs, sheep and goat products and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$173 million2nd of 30
Hay and other crops$132 million3rd of 41
Milk from cows$98.9 million10th of 19
Cattle and calves$20.7 million16th of 33
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$128,00024th of 35
Poultry and eggs$25,00017th of 25

What the fields held

Minidoka County harvested 238,687 acres of cropland in 2022, third of 42 counties in Idaho. Sugar beets covered acreage equal to 22% of that, vegetables 19%.

CropAcresShare of US
Sugar beets53,4394.6%
Vegetables45,0791.0%
of which potatoes43,2744.0%
Barley40,2181.7%
Hay and haylage36,4780.07%
Wheat35,8970.10%
Corn for silage11,9070.20%
Corn for grain9,019under 0.1%
Dry edible beans6,0390.49%
Oats25under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: orchard land, grapes and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms63.7%

Minidoka County ranks sixth of 44 counties in Idaho on this measure.

  • 278,599 acres of cropland, 90% of farmland
  • 26,923 acres of pastureland, 9% of farmland
  • 12 acres of woodland, under 0.1% of farmland
  • 239,043 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Minidoka County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 32 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 680 acres, 15th-largest of 42 in Idaho. The most common size class is 1–9 acres, with 30.2% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 14.1% of the total.

1–930%10–4925%50–17914%180–49911%500–9996%1,000–1,9998%2,000+6%
Minidoka County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Sheep and lambs67,1411.3%
Milk cows18,6260.20%
Cattle and calves54,7090.06%
Beef cows10,408under 0.1%
Horses and ponies572under 0.1%
Goats545under 0.1%
Laying hens667under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs83under 0.1%
Turkeys26under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Minidoka County's 454 farms are made by 817 producers. Their average age is 54.8, 1.8 years below the Idaho average. Women are 33.9% of them.

Under 358%35–4422%45–5417%55–6424%65–7421%75+8%
Minidoka County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms620−26.8%
Land in farms, acres267,567+15.3%
Average farm size, acres432+57.4%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$354 million+54.4%
Sugar beets, acres50,351+6.1%
Potatoes, acres28,861+49.9%
Barley, acres47,296−15.0%
Sheep and lambs, head103,660−35.2%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Minidoka County accounts for 5.0% of farm sales in Idaho and 2.0% of the farms in Idaho. Rank Idaho counties for sugar beets.

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