Farm Census

LaSalle County, Illinois

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,706 farms603,762 acres in farms$614 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, LaSalle County ranks third for corn for grain and fourth for sales of grains and oilseeds.

Within Illinois, no other county with a published figure has more farms.

Grains and oilseeds: 94.1%Grains and oilseeds94.1%Cattle and calves: 3.4%3.4%Withheld groups: 1.7%1.7%Hay and other crops: 0.3%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.2%Vegetables and melons: 0.2%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Milk: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 94.1%Grains and oilseeds94.1%Cattle and calves: 3.4%Withheld groups: 1.7%Hay and other crops: 0.3%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.2%Vegetables and melons: 0.2%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Milk: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: hogs and pigs and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$578 million4th of 100
Cattle and calves$21.1 million12th of 81
Hay and other crops$1.8 million12th of 83
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$1.1 million26th of 48
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$1.0 million25th of 66
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$326,00010th of 78
Poultry and eggs$270,00021st of 68
Other animals and animal products$148,00014th of 67
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$86,00031st of 52
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$60,00042nd of 61
Milk from cows$1,00030th of 30

What the fields held

LaSalle County harvested 554,683 acres of cropland in 2022, fourth of 102 counties in Illinois. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 52% of that, soybeans 46%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain289,5730.36%
Soybeans254,4500.30%
Hay and haylage5,405under 0.1%
Wheat4,131under 0.1%
Barley897under 0.1%
Vegetables704under 0.1%
of which potatoes2under 0.1%
Oats255under 0.1%
Orchard land19under 0.1%
of which apples15under 0.1%
Berries1under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for silage.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms83.1%

LaSalle County ranks 27th of 102 counties in Illinois on this measure.

  • 574,703 acres of cropland, 95% of farmland
  • 8,918 acres of pastureland, 1% of farmland
  • 12,273 acres of woodland, 2% of farmland
  • 5,869 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in LaSalle County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 107 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 354 acres, 62nd-largest of 101 in Illinois. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 25.1% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 9.7% of the total.

1–911%10–4924%50–17925%180–49919%500–99911%1,000–1,9997%2,000+2%
LaSalle County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Horses and ponies783under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs1,491under 0.1%
Beef cows4,034under 0.1%
Cattle and calves11,961under 0.1%
Goats253under 0.1%
Laying hens3,222under 0.1%
Turkeys62under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 20225,155under 0.1%
Milk cows3under 0.1%

Withheld: hogs and pigs.

Who farms here

Decisions on LaSalle County's 1,706 farms are made by 2,902 producers. Their average age is 57.9, 0.7 years below the Illinois average. Women are 27.8% of them.

Under 3511%35–4412%45–5414%55–6423%65–7426%75+14%
LaSalle County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,496+14.0%
Land in farms, acres573,041+5.4%
Average farm size, acres383−7.6%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$371 million+65.6%
Corn for grain, acres274,836+5.4%
Soybeans, acres241,578+5.3%
Horses and ponies, head795−1.5%
Sheep and lambs, head1,839−18.9%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

LaSalle County accounts for 2.3% of farm sales in Illinois and 2.4% of the farms in Illinois. Rank Illinois counties for corn for grain.

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