Farm Census

Kossuth County, Iowa

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,342 farms584,543 acres in farms$925 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Kossuth County leads the country in corn for grain and ranks fifth for sales of grains and oilseeds.

Within Iowa, no other county with a published figure has more land in farms, or sells more farm products.

Grains and oilseeds: 61.6%Grains and oilseeds61.6%Hogs and pigs: 31.6%Hogs and pigs31.6%Cattle and calves: 3.9%Cattle and calves3.9%Withheld groups: 2.6%Withheld groups2.6%Vegetables and melons: 0.1%Hay and other crops: 0.1%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 61.6%Grains and oilseeds61.6%Hogs and pigs: 31.6%Hogs and pigs31.6%Cattle and calves: 3.9%3.9%Withheld groups: 2.6%2.6%Vegetables and melons: 0.1%Hay and other crops: 0.1%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: nursery and greenhouse crops, Christmas trees, milk, poultry and eggs and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$570 million1st of 99
Hogs and pigs$292 million9th of 91
Cattle and calves$36.1 million37th of 85
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$978,0004th of 67
Hay and other crops$840,00069th of 84
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$569,00022nd of 85
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$74,00044th of 54
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$8,00068th of 68

What the fields held

Kossuth County harvested 524,174 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 99 counties in Iowa. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 58% of that, soybeans 41%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain304,3400.38%
Soybeans212,4950.25%
Hay and haylage3,193under 0.1%
Oats1,8010.20%
Corn for silage1,311under 0.1%
Vegetables962under 0.1%
Orchard land11under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: barley, apples, grapes and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms93.9%

Kossuth County ranks 16th of 99 counties in Iowa on this measure.

  • 561,473 acres of cropland, 96% of farmland
  • 8,108 acres of pastureland, 1% of farmland
  • 4,280 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 506 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Kossuth County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 228 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 436 acres, 21st-largest of 99 in Iowa. The most common size class is 180–499 acres, with 26.0% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 10.7% of the total.

1–96%10–4917%50–17922%180–49926%500–99919%1,000–1,9997%2,000+4%
Kossuth County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Hogs and pigs542,6970.74%
Goats1,4440.06%
Sheep and lambs1,740under 0.1%
Cattle and calves21,456under 0.1%
Horses and ponies116under 0.1%
Laying hens3,689under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022760under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows, milk cows and turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Kossuth County's 1,342 farms are made by 2,309 producers. Their average age is 57.7, 0.1 years above the Iowa average. Women are 28.0% of them.

Under 358%35–4414%45–5417%55–6424%65–7426%75+11%
Kossuth County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,347−0.4%
Land in farms, acres593,983−1.6%
Average farm size, acres441−1.1%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$588 million+57.3%
Hogs and pigs, head596,118−9.0%
Corn for grain, acres307,485−1.0%
Soybeans, acres221,893−4.2%
Oats, acres2,641−31.8%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Kossuth County accounts for 2.1% of farm sales in Iowa and 1.5% of the farms in Iowa. Rank Iowa counties for hogs and pigs.

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