Farm Census

Hamilton County, Iowa

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

770 farms367,576 acres in farms$794 million in farm sales

No other county in Iowa with a published figure has more turkeys than Hamilton County.

Its corn acreage grew between 2017 and 2022, the fifth-largest increase among the 100 leading corn counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Grains and oilseeds: 46.6%Grains and oilseeds46.6%Hogs and pigs: 38.4%Hogs and pigs38.4%Poultry and eggs: 14.3%Poultry and eggs14.3%Cattle and calves: 0.4%Aquaculture: 0.1%Other animals: 0.1%Hay and other crops: under 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 46.6%Grains and oilseeds46.6%Hogs and pigs: 38.4%Hogs and pigs38.4%Poultry and eggs: 14.3%14.3%Cattle and calves: 0.4%Aquaculture: 0.1%Other animals: 0.1%Hay and other crops: under 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, fruit and nuts, sheep and goat products and horses and mules.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$370 million8th of 99
Hogs and pigs$305 million7th of 91
Poultry and eggs$113 million5th of 51
Cattle and calves$3.4 million83rd of 85
Aquaculture$750,0002nd of 3
Other animals and animal products$445,0003rd of 58
Hay and other crops$325,00083rd of 84
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$101,00038th of 43

What the fields held

Hamilton County harvested 332,725 acres of cropland in 2022, tenth of 99 counties in Iowa. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 61% of that, soybeans 39%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain202,1230.25%
Soybeans128,7010.15%
Hay and haylage1,496under 0.1%
Oats213under 0.1%
Orchard land7under 0.1%
of which grapes7under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for silage, vegetables and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms99.6%

Hamilton County ranks third of 99 counties in Iowa on this measure.

  • 350,607 acres of cropland, 95% of farmland
  • 4,276 acres of pastureland, 1% of farmland
  • 5,146 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 4 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Hamilton County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 120 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 477 acres, tenth-largest of 99 in Iowa. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 23.1% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 13.1% of the total.

1–912%10–4923%50–17922%180–49918%500–99912%1,000–1,9998%2,000+5%
Hamilton County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Turkeys1,138,2771.2%
Hogs and pigs680,0940.92%
Sheep and lambs1,445under 0.1%
Goats271under 0.1%
Beef cows2,023under 0.1%
Horses and ponies162under 0.1%
Cattle and calves3,888under 0.1%

Withheld: laying hens and broilers sold.

Who farms here

Decisions on Hamilton County's 770 farms are made by 1,364 producers. Their average age is 58.4, 0.8 years above the Iowa average. Women are 31.4% of them.

Under 3510%35–4414%45–5414%55–6419%65–7428%75+15%
Hamilton County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms732+5.2%
Land in farms, acres315,307+16.6%
Average farm size, acres431+10.7%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$587 million+35.3%
Turkeys, head897,935+26.8%
Hogs and pigs, head1,011,344−32.8%
Corn for grain, acres171,923+17.6%
Soybeans, acres109,985+17.0%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Hamilton County accounts for 1.8% of farm sales in Iowa and 0.9% of the farms in Iowa. Rank Iowa counties for turkeys.

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