Farm Census

Polk County, Minnesota

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,223 farms1,083,394 acres in farms$697 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Polk County leads the country in sugar beets, ranks fourth for dry edible beans, fifth for soybeans and tenth for sales of grains and oilseeds and sales of hay and other crops.

Within Minnesota, no other county with a published figure has more land in farms or wheat, or sells more farm products.

Grains and oilseeds: 71.3%Grains and oilseeds71.3%Hay and other crops: 23.2%Hay and other crops23.2%Vegetables and melons: 3.5%3.5%Cattle and calves: 1.0%1.0%Milk: 0.4%0.4%Other animals: 0.4%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 71.3%Grains and oilseeds71.3%Hay and other crops: 23.2%Hay and other crops23.2%Vegetables and melons: 3.5%3.5%Cattle and calves: 1.0%Milk: 0.4%Other animals: 0.4%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: 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$497 million2nd of 83
Hay and other crops$162 million1st of 78
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$24.4 million5th of 62
Cattle and calves$7.0 million54th of 79
Milk from cows$3.1 million45th of 56
Other animals and animal products$2.9 million3rd of 58
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$569,00038th of 51
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$308,00026th of 63
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$170,00023rd of 54
Hogs and pigs$116,00054th of 69
Poultry and eggs$82,00040th of 49
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$38,00039th of 44

What the fields held

Polk County harvested 904,276 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 87 counties in Minnesota. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 36% of that, wheat 31%.

CropAcresShare of US
Soybeans325,2040.38%
Wheat278,5180.75%
Sugar beets96,7458.4%
Corn for grain90,3890.11%
Dry edible beans55,8914.5%
Hay and haylage19,520under 0.1%
Sunflower7,1060.45%
Barley5,4570.22%
Vegetables5,2370.12%
of which potatoes4,9040.46%
Oats3,6470.40%
Corn for silage927under 0.1%
Orchard land9under 0.1%
Berries3under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: canola, apples and grapes.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms85.9%

Polk County ranks 19th of 87 counties in Minnesota on this measure.

  • 986,385 acres of cropland, 91% of farmland
  • 33,606 acres of pastureland, 3% of farmland
  • 32,519 acres of woodland, 3% of farmland
  • 13,059 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Polk County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 320 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 886 acres, fourth-largest of 84 in Minnesota. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 24.3% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 27.6% of the total.

1–92%10–4911%50–17924%180–49922%500–99912%1,000–1,99914%2,000+14%
Polk County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Goats714under 0.1%
Horses and ponies566under 0.1%
Beef cows5,981under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs809under 0.1%
Cattle and calves13,468under 0.1%
Milk cows958under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs1,862under 0.1%
Laying hens1,082under 0.1%
Turkeys74under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022366under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Polk County's 1,223 farms are made by 2,295 producers. Their average age is 55.3, 1.8 years below the Minnesota average. Women are 25.6% of them.

Under 3512%35–4417%45–5413%55–6426%65–7421%75+11%
Polk County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,258−2.8%
Land in farms, acres1,023,140+5.9%
Average farm size, acres813+9.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$430 million+62.3%
Sugar beets, acres87,000+11.2%
Dry edible beans, acres43,110+29.6%
Wheat, acres254,680+9.4%
Potatoes, acres4,574+7.2%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Polk County accounts for 2.4% of farm sales in Minnesota and 1.9% of the farms in Minnesota. Rank Minnesota counties for sugar beets.

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