Farm Census

Aroostook County, Maine

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

720 farms305,052 acres in farms$291 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Aroostook County leads the country in oats.

Within Maine, no other county with a published figure has more farms, land in farms, hay and haylage or vegetables, or sells more farm products.

Vegetables and melons: 86.8%Vegetables and melons86.8%Grains and oilseeds: 5.2%5.2%Cattle and calves: 2.6%2.6%Milk: 1.9%Milk1.9%Hay and other crops: 1.9%1.9%Fruit and nuts: 0.7%0.7%Other animals: 0.3%Christmas trees: 0.2%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.1%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Vegetables and melons: 86.8%Vegetables and melons86.8%Grains and oilseeds: 5.2%5.2%Cattle and calves: 2.6%2.6%Milk: 1.9%1.9%Hay and other crops: 1.9%1.9%Fruit and nuts: 0.7%Other animals: 0.3%Christmas trees: 0.2%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.1%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: poultry and eggs, horses and mules and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$253 million1st of 13
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$15.1 million1st of 11
Cattle and calves$7.6 million1st of 16
Milk from cows$5.6 million8th of 10
Hay and other crops$5.6 million2nd of 14
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$2.1 million10th of 16
Other animals and animal products$824,0001st of 9
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$631,0002nd of 12
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$312,00011th of 13
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$175,0009th of 16
Hogs and pigs$125,0006th of 16

What the fields held

Aroostook County harvested 125,169 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 16 counties in Maine. Vegetables covered acreage equal to 45% of that, hay and haylage 22%.

CropAcresShare of US
Vegetables55,9431.3%
Hay and haylage27,4910.05%
Oats23,0292.5%
Barley10,1000.42%
Corn for grain1,984under 0.1%
Wheat1,618under 0.1%
Corn for silage843under 0.1%
Soybeans758under 0.1%
Orchard land136under 0.1%
of which grapes1under 0.1%
of which apples120under 0.1%
Berries71under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: sunflower, canola and potatoes.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms7.1%

Aroostook County ranks tenth of 16 counties in Maine on this measure.

  • 172,979 acres of cropland, 57% of farmland
  • 16,628 acres of pastureland, 5% of farmland
  • 98,980 acres of woodland, 32% of farmland
  • 11,209 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Aroostook County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 129 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 424 acres, first-largest of 16 in Maine. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 36.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 9.3% of the total.

1–96%10–4915%50–17937%180–49925%500–9998%1,000–1,9995%2,000+4%
Aroostook County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Sheep and lambs1,807under 0.1%
Horses and ponies459under 0.1%
Goats404under 0.1%
Milk cows916under 0.1%
Cattle and calves7,042under 0.1%
Beef cows1,473under 0.1%
Laying hens4,198under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs301under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 202219,664under 0.1%
Turkeys195under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Aroostook County's 720 farms are made by 1,334 producers. Their average age is 54.7, 2.8 years below the Maine average. Women are 34.1% of them.

Under 3512%35–4416%45–5419%55–6422%65–7424%75+8%
Aroostook County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms766−6.0%
Land in farms, acres317,082−3.8%
Average farm size, acres414+2.4%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$202 million+44.1%
Oats, acres20,806+10.7%
Vegetables, acres52,602+6.4%
Barley, acres14,979−32.6%
Hay and haylage, acres21,061+30.5%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Aroostook County accounts for 33.5% of farm sales in Maine and 10.2% of the farms in Maine. Rank Maine counties for oats.

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