Farm Census

Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

868 farms294,956 acres in farms$165 million in farm sales

Avoyelles Parish's largest product group with a published figure, grains and oilseeds, makes up 56.8% of farm sales, against 36.4% across Louisiana.

Its farms account for 3.4% of all farm sales in Louisiana, the eighth-largest share among the state's 64 counties.

Grains and oilseeds: 56.8%Grains and oilseeds56.8%Hay and other crops: 32.5%Hay and other crops32.5%Cattle and calves: 4.3%4.3%Vegetables and melons: 1.9%1.9%Aquaculture: 1.6%1.6%Cotton: 1.1%Cotton1.1%Other animals: 1.0%1.0%Fruit and nuts: 0.3%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.3%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 56.8%Grains and oilseeds56.8%Hay and other crops: 32.5%Hay and other crops32.5%Cattle and calves: 4.3%4.3%Vegetables and melons: 1.9%1.9%Aquaculture: 1.6%Cotton: 1.1%Other animals: 1.0%Fruit and nuts: 0.3%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.3%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: milk, hogs and pigs and horses and mules.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$93.7 million10th of 42
Hay and other crops$53.5 million10th of 54
Cattle and calves$7.1 million14th of 55
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$3.1 million3rd of 35
Aquaculture$2.6 million15th of 28
Cotton and cottonseed$1.8 million14th of 17
Other animals and animal products$1.7 million1st of 39
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$574,00011th of 43
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$528,00014th of 27
Poultry and eggs$76,00027th of 46
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$51,00015th of 34

What the fields held

Avoyelles Parish harvested 171,654 acres of cropland in 2022, sixth of 61 counties in Louisiana. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 50% of that, sugarcane 13%.

CropAcresShare of US
Soybeans86,4430.10%
Sugarcane21,7182.4%
Corn for grain20,813under 0.1%
Hay and haylage15,768under 0.1%
Rice14,0040.61%
Grain sorghum8,1340.17%
Cotton2,828under 0.1%
Wheat2,455under 0.1%
Orchard land783under 0.1%
Vegetables643under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: potatoes, citrus, pecans, grapes and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms55.4%

Avoyelles Parish ranks 11th of 64 counties in Louisiana on this measure.

  • 202,768 acres of cropland, 69% of farmland
  • 43,959 acres of pastureland, 15% of farmland
  • 37,084 acres of woodland, 13% of farmland
  • 32,715 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Avoyelles Parish run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 75 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 340 acres, 21st-largest of 55 in Louisiana. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 30.2% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 9.4% of the total.

1–911%10–4927%50–17930%180–49914%500–9998%1,000–1,9994%2,000+5%
Avoyelles Parish US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Beef cows15,3230.05%
Cattle and calves27,646under 0.1%
Goats451under 0.1%
Horses and ponies324under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs505under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs360under 0.1%
Laying hens1,755under 0.1%
Turkeys147under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022180under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Avoyelles Parish's 868 farms are made by 1,519 producers. Their average age is 56.0, 2.0 years below the Louisiana average. Women are 34.6% of them.

Under 3510%35–4418%45–5415%55–6422%65–7425%75+10%
Avoyelles Parish US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms770+12.7%
Land in farms, acres281,988+4.6%
Average farm size, acres366−7.1%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$104 million+58.1%
Rice, acres19,545−28.3%
Grain sorghum, acres6,763+20.3%
Soybeans, acres92,162−6.2%
Beef cows, head16,295−6.0%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Avoyelles Parish accounts for 3.5% of the farms in Louisiana. Rank Louisiana counties for sugarcane.

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