Farm Census

Cherokee County, Kansas

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

608 farms258,413 acres in farms$96.7 million in farm sales

Cherokee County's largest product group with a published figure, grains and oilseeds, makes up 66.0% of farm sales, against 32.4% across Kansas.

Its farms account for 0.4% of all farm sales in Kansas, the 66th-largest share among the state's 105 counties.

Grains and oilseeds: 66.0%Grains and oilseeds66.0%Poultry and eggs: 18.0%Poultry and eggs18.0%Cattle and calves: 13.1%Cattle and calves13.1%Hay and other crops: 1.9%1.9%Fruit and nuts: 0.5%Horses and mules: 0.4%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 66.0%Grains and oilseeds66.0%Poultry and eggs: 18.0%Poultry and eggs18.0%Cattle and calves: 13.1%13.1%Hay and other crops: 1.9%Fruit and nuts: 0.5%Horses and mules: 0.4%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, nursery and greenhouse crops, milk and hogs and pigs.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$63.8 million49th of 101
Poultry and eggs$17.4 million1st of 70
Cattle and calves$12.7 million81st of 88
Hay and other crops$1.9 million58th of 84
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$452,0004th of 28
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$340,00013th of 70
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$96,00046th of 81
Other animals and animal products$28,00028th of 41

What the fields held

Cherokee County harvested 184,462 acres of cropland in 2022, 53rd of 105 counties in Kansas. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 49% of that, wheat 29%.

CropAcresShare of US
Soybeans90,8970.11%
Wheat53,0890.14%
Corn for grain51,3630.06%
Hay and haylage19,550under 0.1%
Orchard land1,573under 0.1%
of which grapes30under 0.1%
of which pecans1,5210.25%
Grain sorghum1,563under 0.1%
Sunflower60under 0.1%

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

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms68.7%

Cherokee County ranks 92nd of 105 counties in Kansas on this measure.

  • 194,573 acres of cropland, 75% of farmland
  • 50,540 acres of pastureland, 20% of farmland
  • 12,733 acres of woodland, 5% of farmland
  • 165 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Cherokee County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 80 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 425 acres, 91st-largest of 105 in Kansas. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 35.4% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 11.3% of the total.

1–96%10–4926%50–17935%180–49914%500–9997%1,000–1,9995%2,000+6%
Cherokee County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Beef cows13,504under 0.1%
Cattle and calves24,075under 0.1%
Goats501under 0.1%
Horses and ponies316under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs139under 0.1%
Laying hens1,195under 0.1%
Milk cows10under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs62under 0.1%

Withheld: turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Cherokee County's 608 farms are made by 1,024 producers. Their average age is 57.8, 0.4 years below the Kansas average. Women are 33.7% of them.

Under 359%35–4414%45–5414%55–6425%65–7426%75+12%
Cherokee County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms756−19.6%
Land in farms, acres319,315−19.1%
Average farm size, acres422+0.7%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$107 million−9.6%
Wheat, acres60,669−12.5%
Soybeans, acres102,496−11.3%
Corn for grain, acres71,164−27.8%
Beef cows, head17,676−23.6%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Cherokee County accounts for 1.1% of the farms in Kansas. Rank Kansas counties for pecans.

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