Bolivar County, Mississippi
Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture
394 farms454,619 acres in farms$347 million in farm sales
Among US counties with published figures, Bolivar County ranks third for soybeans.
Within Mississippi, no other county with a published figure has more land in farms or rice, or sells more farm products.
Women make up the third-smallest share of producers among the 2,346 counties with at least 500 producers.
Its soybean acreage grew between 2017 and 2022, the fifth-largest increase among the 100 leading soybean counties of 2017 with figures in both years.
Sales by product group
| Product group | Sales | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|
| Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas | $328 million | 1st of 66 |
| Cotton and cottonseed | $17.7 million | 8th of 36 |
| Cattle and calves | $886,000 | 58th of 64 |
| Fruit, tree nuts and berries | $353,000 | 13th of 53 |
| Vegetables, melons and potatoes | $207,000 | 33rd of 54 |
| Hay and other crops | $110,000 | 70th of 71 |
| Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops | $62,000 | 27th of 36 |
What the fields held
Bolivar County harvested 398,570 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 82 counties in Mississippi. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 83% of that, rice 7%.
| Crop | Acres | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Soybeans | 332,370 | 0.39% |
| Rice | 26,502 | 1.2% |
| Corn for grain | 18,321 | under 0.1% |
| Cotton | 16,404 | 0.21% |
| Wheat | 4,253 | under 0.1% |
| Hay and haylage | 1,080 | under 0.1% |
| Orchard land | 638 | under 0.1% |
| of which pecans | 638 | 0.11% |
| Vegetables | 95 | under 0.1% |
Withheld to protect individual farms: grain sorghum, oats and potatoes.
How much of the county is farmland
Share of the county land in farms81.0%
Bolivar County ranks third of 82 counties in Mississippi on this measure.
- 410,138 acres of cropland, 90% of farmland
- 5,888 acres of pastureland, 1% of farmland
- 36,583 acres of woodland, 8% of farmland
- 315,706 acres irrigated
Farm sizes
Farms in Bolivar County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 634 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 1,154 acres, seventh-largest of 81 in Mississippi. The most common size class is 500–999 acres, with 17.8% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 35.3% of the total.
Barns, pens and pastures
| Animals | Head | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Beef cows | 1,610 | under 0.1% |
| Cattle and calves | 2,375 | under 0.1% |
| Horses and ponies | 33 | under 0.1% |
Who farms here
Decisions on Bolivar County's 394 farms are made by 611 producers. Their average age is 62.0, 2.4 years above the Mississippi average. Women are 19.3% of them.
Five years earlier
| Measure | 2017 | Change to 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Farms | 412 | −4.4% |
| Land in farms, acres | 409,242 | +11.1% |
| Average farm size, acres | 993 | +16.2% |
| Farm products sold (current dollars) | $208 million | +66.8% |
| Rice, acres | 27,035 | −2.0% |
| Soybeans, acres | 289,325 | +14.9% |
| Cotton, acres | 13,680 | +19.9% |
| Pecans, acres | 255 | +100% |
Nearest rivals
- Rice between Crittenden County, AR and Saint Landry Parish, LA
- Soybeans between Cass County, ND and Barnes County, ND
- Cotton between Hill County, TX and Martin County, TX
- Pecans between Wharton County, TX and Laurens County, GA
Counties with a similar sales mix
- Monroe County, Arkansas largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
- East Carroll Parish, Louisiana largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
- Stevens County, Kansas largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
Bolivar County accounts for 4.2% of farm sales in Mississippi and 1.3% of the farms in Mississippi. Rank Mississippi counties for rice.
Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.