Farm Census

Huron County, Michigan

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,217 farms454,627 acres in farms$817 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Huron County leads the country in dry edible beans and ranks fourth for sugar beets.

Within Michigan, no other county with a published figure has more corn for silage, wheat, cattle and calves or milk cows, or sells more farm products.

Grains and oilseeds: 33.3%Grains and oilseeds33.3%Milk: 31.6%Milk31.6%Cattle and calves: 17.6%Cattle and calves17.6%Hay and other crops: 10.3%Hay and other crops10.3%Withheld groups: 6.8%Withheld groups6.8%Vegetables and melons: 0.2%Other animals: 0.2%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 33.3%Grains and oilseeds33.3%Milk: 31.6%Milk31.6%Cattle and calves: 17.6%Cattle and calves17.6%Hay and other crops: 10.3%10.3%Withheld groups: 6.8%6.8%Vegetables and melons: 0.2%Other animals: 0.2%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: fruit and nuts, Christmas trees, hogs and pigs and poultry and eggs.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$272 million2nd of 76
Milk from cows$258 million1st of 52
Cattle and calves$144 million1st of 74
Hay and other crops$84.4 million1st of 72
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$1.7 million36th of 62
Other animals and animal products$1.6 million5th of 63
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$616,00050th of 65
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$153,00039th of 58
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$147,00036th of 61

What the fields held

Huron County harvested 394,618 acres of cropland in 2022, second of 81 counties in Michigan. Dry edible beans covered acreage equal to 21% of that, corn for grain 20%.

CropAcresShare of US
Dry edible beans81,5426.6%
Corn for grain77,9840.10%
Wheat68,3420.18%
Soybeans58,5380.07%
Sugar beets52,7984.6%
Corn for silage29,3990.49%
Hay and haylage26,045under 0.1%
Oats1,7120.19%
Vegetables332under 0.1%
Orchard land37under 0.1%
of which grapes16under 0.1%
of which apples14under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: barley, potatoes and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms85.0%

Huron County ranks first of 81 counties in Michigan on this measure.

  • 416,734 acres of cropland, 92% of farmland
  • 3,948 acres of pastureland, 1% of farmland
  • 15,903 acres of woodland, 3% of farmland
  • 5,023 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Huron 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 374 acres, second-largest of 73 in Michigan. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 29.8% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 11.2% of the total.

1–911%10–4930%50–17924%180–49915%500–9999%1,000–1,9997%2,000+4%
Huron County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows45,9750.49%
Cattle and calves118,8820.14%
Hogs and pigs49,1310.07%
Goats673under 0.1%
Horses and ponies360under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs551under 0.1%
Beef cows1,176under 0.1%
Turkeys71under 0.1%

Withheld: laying hens and broilers sold.

Who farms here

Decisions on Huron County's 1,217 farms are made by 2,104 producers. Their average age is 56.5, the same as the Michigan average. Women are 28.7% of them.

Under 3511%35–4414%45–5417%55–6423%65–7423%75+12%
Huron County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,153+5.6%
Land in farms, acres495,258−8.2%
Average farm size, acres430−13.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$611 million+33.8%
Dry edible beans, acres84,466−3.5%
Sugar beets, acres58,505−9.8%
Milk cows, head50,274−8.6%
Corn for silage, acres27,669+6.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Huron County accounts for 6.7% of farm sales in Michigan and 2.7% of the farms in Michigan. Rank Michigan counties for dry edible beans.

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