Marshall County, Minnesota
Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture
1,072 farms912,128 acres in farms$420 million in farm sales
Among US counties with published figures, Marshall County ranks sixth for sugar beets and eighth for oats.
Women make up the sixth-smallest share of producers among the 2,346 counties with at least 500 producers.
Sales by product group
| Product group | Sales | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|
| Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas | $317 million | 15th of 83 |
| Hay and other crops | $89.8 million | 2nd of 78 |
| Cattle and calves | $6.1 million | 56th of 79 |
| Vegetables, melons and potatoes | $607,000 | 46th of 62 |
| Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops | $308,000 | 43rd of 51 |
| Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk | $63,000 | 52nd of 63 |
| Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys | $12,000 | 51st of 54 |
| Hogs and pigs | $3,000 | 69th of 69 |
| Aquaculture | $2,000 | 9th of 9 |
What the fields held
Marshall County harvested 646,007 acres of cropland in 2022, second of 87 counties in Minnesota. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 39% of that, wheat 34%.
| Crop | Acres | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Soybeans | 254,815 | 0.30% |
| Wheat | 217,709 | 0.59% |
| Sugar beets | 49,535 | 4.3% |
| Corn for grain | 28,255 | under 0.1% |
| Hay and haylage | 22,450 | under 0.1% |
| Sunflower | 13,662 | 0.86% |
| Canola | 13,466 | 0.63% |
| Barley | 13,099 | 0.54% |
| Dry edible beans | 10,752 | 0.87% |
| Oats | 9,096 | 1.00% |
| Corn for silage | 762 | under 0.1% |
| Vegetables | 367 | under 0.1% |
| of which potatoes | 352 | under 0.1% |
How much of the county is farmland
Share of the county land in farms80.3%
Marshall County ranks 31st of 87 counties in Minnesota on this measure.
- 804,133 acres of cropland, 88% of farmland
- 26,954 acres of pastureland, 3% of farmland
- 40,261 acres of woodland, 4% of farmland
- 4,046 acres irrigated
Farm sizes
Farms in Marshall County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 364 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 851 acres, sixth-largest of 84 in Minnesota. The most common size class is 180–499 acres, with 26.9% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 24.3% of the total.
Barns, pens and pastures
| Animals | Head | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Beef cows | 5,290 | under 0.1% |
| Cattle and calves | 10,835 | under 0.1% |
| Sheep and lambs | 427 | under 0.1% |
| Horses and ponies | 197 | under 0.1% |
| Milk cows | 570 | under 0.1% |
| Goats | 63 | under 0.1% |
| Laying hens | 497 | under 0.1% |
| Hogs and pigs | 9 | under 0.1% |
Withheld: broilers sold.
Who farms here
Decisions on Marshall County's 1,072 farms are made by 1,892 producers. Their average age is 56.6, 0.5 years below the Minnesota average. Women are 21.1% of them.
Five years earlier
| Measure | 2017 | Change to 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Farms | 1,086 | −1.3% |
| Land in farms, acres | 902,436 | +1.1% |
| Average farm size, acres | 831 | +2.4% |
| Farm products sold (current dollars) | $261 million | +60.8% |
| Sugar beets, acres | 40,562 | +22.1% |
| Oats, acres | 2,555 | +100% |
| Dry edible beans, acres | 8,046 | +33.6% |
| Sunflower, acres | 6,189 | +100% |
Nearest rivals
- Sugar beets between Pembina County, ND and Cassia County, ID
- Oats between Morton County, ND and Steuben County, NY
- Dry edible beans between Kandiyohi County, MN and Renville County, MN
- Sunflower between Traill County, ND and Divide County, ND
Counties with a similar sales mix
- Kittson County, Minnesota largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
- Norman County, Minnesota largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
- Polk County, Minnesota largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
Marshall County accounts for 1.5% of farm sales in Minnesota and 1.6% of the farms in Minnesota. Rank Minnesota counties for sugar beets.
Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.