Farm Census

Blue Earth County, Minnesota

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,019 farms478,133 acres in farms$838 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Blue Earth County ranks tenth for sales of hogs and pigs.

Its corn acreage grew between 2017 and 2022, the largest increase among the 100 leading corn counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Grains and oilseeds: 54.8%Grains and oilseeds54.8%Hogs and pigs: 42.4%Hogs and pigs42.4%Withheld groups: 1.4%Cattle and calves: 0.9%Vegetables and melons: 0.2%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.2%Hay and other crops: 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 54.8%Grains and oilseeds54.8%Hogs and pigs: 42.4%Hogs and pigs42.4%Withheld groups: 1.4%Cattle and calves: 0.9%Vegetables and melons: 0.2%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.2%Hay and other crops: 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: fruit and nuts, Christmas trees, milk, poultry and eggs and horses and mules.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$459 million3rd of 83
Hogs and pigs$355 million2nd of 69
Cattle and calves$7.1 million53rd of 79
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$1.9 million37th of 62
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$1.4 million22nd of 51
Hay and other crops$952,00068th of 78
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$394,00019th of 63
Other animals and animal products$71,00046th of 58

What the fields held

Blue Earth County harvested 437,712 acres of cropland in 2022, eighth of 87 counties in Minnesota. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 50% of that, soybeans 49%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain219,4460.27%
Soybeans212,7960.25%
Hay and haylage2,898under 0.1%
Vegetables1,355under 0.1%
of which potatoes4under 0.1%
Oats6270.07%
Corn for silage248under 0.1%
Wheat102under 0.1%
Orchard land76under 0.1%
of which grapes65under 0.1%
of which apples6under 0.1%
Berries5under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: barley.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms99.9%

Blue Earth County ranks first of 87 counties in Minnesota on this measure.

  • 452,711 acres of cropland, 95% of farmland
  • 3,770 acres of pastureland, 1% of farmland
  • 10,565 acres of woodland, 2% of farmland
  • 3,269 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Blue Earth County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 150 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 469 acres, 25th-largest of 84 in Minnesota. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 23.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 13.4% of the total.

1–99%10–4922%50–17923%180–49920%500–99912%1,000–1,9996%2,000+7%
Blue Earth County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Hogs and pigs669,7440.91%
Sheep and lambs2,361under 0.1%
Horses and ponies342under 0.1%
Cattle and calves5,372under 0.1%
Goats144under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022790under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows, milk cows, laying hens and turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Blue Earth County's 1,019 farms are made by 1,811 producers. Their average age is 57.3, 0.2 years above the Minnesota average. Women are 27.0% of them.

Under 3510%35–4413%45–5415%55–6424%65–7427%75+11%
Blue Earth County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms983+3.7%
Land in farms, acres382,730+24.9%
Average farm size, acres389+20.6%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$483 million+73.3%
Hogs and pigs, head599,573+11.7%
Corn for grain, acres168,936+29.9%
Soybeans, acres161,950+31.4%
Oats, acres1,311−52.2%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Blue Earth County accounts for 2.9% of farm sales in Minnesota and 1.6% of the farms in Minnesota. Rank Minnesota counties for hogs and pigs.

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