Farm Census

Sanilac County, Michigan

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,334 farms471,070 acres in farms$558 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Sanilac County ranks ninth for dry edible beans.

Within Michigan, no other county with a published figure has more farms, land in farms, soybeans or hay and haylage.

Grains and oilseeds: 49.3%Grains and oilseeds49.3%Milk: 27.7%Milk27.7%Hay and other crops: 11.2%Hay and other crops11.2%Cattle and calves: 10.3%Cattle and calves10.3%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.5%Vegetables and melons: 0.4%Other animals: 0.2%Fruit and nuts: 0.1%Horses and mules: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 49.3%Grains and oilseeds49.3%Milk: 27.7%Milk27.7%Hay and other crops: 11.2%11.2%Cattle and calves: 10.3%10.3%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.5%Vegetables and melons: 0.4%Other animals: 0.2%Fruit and nuts: 0.1%Horses and mules: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$275 million1st of 76
Milk from cows$154 million7th of 52
Hay and other crops$62.6 million2nd of 72
Cattle and calves$57.3 million3rd of 74
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$3.0 million32nd of 65
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$2.3 million32nd of 62
Other animals and animal products$1.2 million8th of 63
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$656,00033rd of 67
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$510,00018th of 58
Poultry and eggs$248,00033rd of 67
Hogs and pigs$231,00026th of 60
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$165,00033rd of 61
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$161,00024th of 48

What the fields held

Sanilac County harvested 410,182 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 81 counties in Michigan. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 35% of that, corn for grain 23%.

CropAcresShare of US
Soybeans143,8660.17%
Corn for grain95,1720.12%
Wheat54,2100.15%
Hay and haylage38,4090.07%
Dry edible beans34,5892.8%
Sugar beets29,1172.5%
Corn for silage17,3290.29%
Oats1,1440.13%
Vegetables749under 0.1%
of which potatoes4under 0.1%
Orchard land105under 0.1%
of which grapes14under 0.1%
of which apples60under 0.1%
Berries37under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: grain sorghum and barley.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms76.5%

Sanilac County ranks fourth of 81 counties in Michigan on this measure.

  • 430,046 acres of cropland, 91% of farmland
  • 10,031 acres of pastureland, 2% of farmland
  • 16,406 acres of woodland, 3% of farmland
  • 1,909 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Sanilac County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 97 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 353 acres, third-largest of 73 in Michigan. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 27.0% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 9.7% of the total.

1–910%10–4925%50–17927%180–49916%500–99912%1,000–1,9996%2,000+3%
Sanilac County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows27,2610.29%
Cattle and calves66,5760.08%
Horses and ponies1,2260.05%
Sheep and lambs1,505under 0.1%
Goats501under 0.1%
Beef cows3,540under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs1,641under 0.1%
Laying hens3,913under 0.1%
Turkeys495under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 20226,556under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Sanilac County's 1,334 farms are made by 2,451 producers. Their average age is 55.4, 1.1 years below the Michigan average. Women are 30.3% of them.

Under 359%35–4419%45–5417%55–6424%65–7421%75+10%
Sanilac County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,315+1.4%
Land in farms, acres436,511+7.9%
Average farm size, acres332+6.3%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$358 million+55.9%
Dry edible beans, acres25,246+37.0%
Sugar beets, acres24,907+16.9%
Milk cows, head26,557+2.7%
Corn for silage, acres20,220−14.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Sanilac County accounts for 4.6% of farm sales in Michigan and 2.9% of the farms in Michigan. Rank Michigan counties for dry edible beans.

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