Farm Census

Cecil County, Maryland

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

575 farms81,040 acres in farms$177 million in farm sales

Cecil County's largest product group with a published figure, nursery and greenhouse crops, makes up 31.9% of farm sales, against 9.2% across Maryland.

Its farms account for 5.2% of all farm sales in Maryland, the ninth-largest share among the state's 23 counties.

Nursery and greenhouse: 31.9%Nursery and greenhouse31.9%Withheld groups: 27.9%Withheld groups27.9%Grains and oilseeds: 21.1%Grains and oilseeds21.1%Milk: 7.3%Milk7.3%Horses and mules: 4.8%Horses and mules4.8%Other animals: 2.7%2.7%Hay and other crops: 2.0%2.0%Fruit and nuts: 1.3%1.3%Vegetables and melons: 0.6%0.6%Tobacco: 0.2%Christmas trees: 0.2%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: 31.9%31.9%Withheld groups: 27.9%Withheld groups27.9%Grains and oilseeds: 21.1%Grains and oilseeds21.1%Milk: 7.3%Milk7.3%Horses and mules: 4.8%4.8%Other animals: 2.7%2.7%Hay and other crops: 2.0%2.0%Fruit and nuts: 1.3%1.3%Vegetables and melons: 0.6%Tobacco: 0.2%Christmas trees: 0.2%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: cattle and calves, hogs and pigs and poultry and eggs.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$56.4 million2nd of 19
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$37.3 million10th of 23
Milk from cows$12.9 million5th of 13
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$8.4 million1st of 18
Other animals and animal products$4.8 million2nd of 15
Hay and other crops$3.6 million5th of 18
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$2.2 million4th of 17
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$1.1 million19th of 23
Tobacco$403,0002nd of 2
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$385,0001st of 10
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$78,0009th of 17

What the fields held

Cecil County harvested 54,336 acres of cropland in 2022, tenth of 23 counties in Maryland. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 36% of that, soybeans 34%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain19,647under 0.1%
Soybeans18,733under 0.1%
Hay and haylage10,535under 0.1%
Wheat7,578under 0.1%
Barley1,119under 0.1%
Corn for silage1,056under 0.1%
Orchard land317under 0.1%
of which grapes39under 0.1%
of which apples169under 0.1%
Vegetables138under 0.1%
of which potatoes2under 0.1%
Tobacco1060.05%
Berries20under 0.1%

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms36.6%

Cecil County ranks ninth of 23 counties in Maryland on this measure.

  • 58,725 acres of cropland, 72% of farmland
  • 7,831 acres of pastureland, 10% of farmland
  • 10,066 acres of woodland, 12% of farmland
  • 1,771 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Cecil County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 39 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 141 acres, ninth-largest of 23 in Maryland. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 39.1% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 2.1% of the total.

1–916%10–4939%50–17926%180–49913%500–9995%1,000–1,9991%2,000+1%
Cecil County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Horses and ponies3,2730.14%
Milk cows2,357under 0.1%
Goats502under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs676under 0.1%
Cattle and calves7,230under 0.1%
Beef cows1,252under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 20226,040under 0.1%

Withheld: hogs and pigs, laying hens and turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Cecil County's 575 farms are made by 1,048 producers. Their average age is 56.0, 1.8 years below the Maryland average. Women are 36.5% of them.

Under 3512%35–4413%45–5415%55–6425%65–7423%75+12%
Cecil County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms533+7.9%
Land in farms, acres73,793+9.8%
Average farm size, acres138+2.2%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$137 million+29.4%
Horses and ponies, head2,662+23.0%
Tobacco, acres56+89.3%
Barley, acres1,796−37.7%
Milk cows, head1,715+37.4%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Cecil County accounts for 4.6% of the farms in Maryland. Rank Maryland counties for horses and ponies.

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