Farm Census

Bourbon County, Kentucky

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

846 farms183,749 acres in farms$251 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Bourbon County ranks third for sales of horses and mules, fourth for sales of other animal products and seventh for horses and ponies.

Its number of horses and ponies grew between 2017 and 2022, the second-largest increase among the 100 leading horse counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Horses and mules: 57.9%Horses and mules57.9%Cattle and calves: 16.4%Cattle and calves16.4%Other animals: 13.0%Other animals13.0%Grains and oilseeds: 6.7%6.7%Withheld groups: 2.9%2.9%Hay and other crops: 1.9%1.9%Tobacco: 1.1%1.1%Vegetables and melons: 0.1%Horses and mules: 57.9%Horses and mules57.9%Cattle and calves: 16.4%16.4%Other animals: 13.0%13.0%Grains and oilseeds: 6.7%6.7%Withheld groups: 2.9%2.9%Hay and other crops: 1.9%1.9%Tobacco: 1.1%1.1%Vegetables and melons: 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: fruit and nuts, nursery and greenhouse crops, hogs and pigs, poultry and eggs, sheep and goat products and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$145 million3rd of 95
Cattle and calves$41.1 million4th of 113
Other animals and animal products$32.7 million3rd of 70
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$16.7 million45th of 105
Hay and other crops$4.8 million13th of 115
Tobacco$2.9 million23rd of 60
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$346,00041st of 98

What the fields held

Bourbon County harvested 56,971 acres of cropland in 2022, 35th of 116 counties in Kentucky. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 63% of that, soybeans 21%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage35,7280.07%
Soybeans11,991under 0.1%
Corn for grain7,271under 0.1%
Corn for silage918under 0.1%
Wheat732under 0.1%
Tobacco6330.31%
Vegetables61under 0.1%
of which potatoes4under 0.1%
Orchard land44under 0.1%
of which grapes1under 0.1%
of which apples9under 0.1%
Berries6under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: grain sorghum and pecans.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms99.1%

Bourbon County ranks second of 120 counties in Kentucky on this measure.

  • 69,060 acres of cropland, 38% of farmland
  • 93,571 acres of pastureland, 51% of farmland
  • 6,761 acres of woodland, 4% of farmland
  • 227 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Bourbon County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 65 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 217 acres, 28th-largest of 110 in Kentucky. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 34.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 5.2% of the total.

1–99%10–4935%50–17929%180–49916%500–9996%1,000–1,9994%2,000+1%
Bourbon County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Horses and ponies11,1700.46%
Beef cows20,6950.07%
Cattle and calves43,023under 0.1%
Goats774under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs1,194under 0.1%
Laying hens4,266under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs83under 0.1%
Milk cows9under 0.1%

Withheld: broilers sold and turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Bourbon County's 846 farms are made by 1,552 producers. Their average age is 57.6, 0.5 years above the Kentucky average. Women are 41.8% of them.

Under 3511%35–4410%45–5415%55–6429%65–7423%75+11%
Bourbon County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms915−7.5%
Land in farms, acres170,872+7.5%
Average farm size, acres187+16.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$210 million+19.7%
Horses and ponies, head7,925+40.9%
Tobacco, acres1,188−46.7%
Beef cows, head22,813−9.3%
Hay and haylage, acres40,352−11.5%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Bourbon County accounts for 3.1% of farm sales in Kentucky and 1.2% of the farms in Kentucky. Rank Kentucky counties for horses and ponies.

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