Farm Census

Holt County, Nebraska

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,198 farms1,542,780 acres in farms$648 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Holt County ranks second for beef cows and third for hay and haylage.

Its largest product group with a published figure, grains and oilseeds, makes up 55.9% of farm sales, against 45.7% across Nebraska.

Grains and oilseeds: 55.9%Grains and oilseeds55.9%Cattle and calves: 26.4%Cattle and calves26.4%Hogs and pigs: 10.9%Hogs and pigs10.9%Withheld groups: 3.5%3.5%Hay and other crops: 3.2%3.2%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 55.9%Grains and oilseeds55.9%Cattle and calves: 26.4%Cattle and calves26.4%Hogs and pigs: 10.9%Hogs and pigs10.9%Withheld groups: 3.5%3.5%Hay and other crops: 3.2%3.2%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons and nursery and greenhouse crops.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$362 million3rd of 90
Cattle and calves$171 million16th of 82
Hogs and pigs$70.9 million4th of 45
Hay and other crops$20.7 million2nd of 68
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$571,0006th of 66
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$282,00014th of 66
Poultry and eggs$185,00012th of 47
Other animals and animal products$49,00026th of 52

What the fields held

Holt County harvested 581,412 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 89 counties in Nebraska. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 42% of that, corn for grain 34%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage244,9760.45%
Corn for grain198,3610.25%
Soybeans113,7030.13%
Corn for silage8,1680.14%
Wheat2,329under 0.1%
Grain sorghum1,350under 0.1%
Oats7140.08%
Barley105under 0.1%
Orchard land36under 0.1%
of which grapes6under 0.1%
of which apples12under 0.1%
of which pecans12under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: sunflower, dry edible beans, potatoes and vegetables.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms99.9%

Holt County ranks second of 93 counties in Nebraska on this measure.

  • 649,518 acres of cropland, 42% of farmland
  • 862,357 acres of pastureland, 56% of farmland
  • 18,959 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 318,192 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Holt County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 492 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 1,288 acres, 26th-largest of 87 in Nebraska. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 19.7% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 33.2% of the total.

1–94%10–499%50–17918%180–49919%500–99917%1,000–1,99914%2,000+20%
Holt County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Beef cows92,5180.32%
Cattle and calves190,6770.22%
Hogs and pigs118,0220.16%
Sheep and lambs2,9610.06%
Horses and ponies1,196under 0.1%
Goats937under 0.1%
Laying hens3,721under 0.1%
Milk cows10under 0.1%

Withheld: broilers sold.

Who farms here

Decisions on Holt County's 1,198 farms are made by 2,296 producers. Their average age is 55.7, 1.2 years below the Nebraska average. Women are 33.3% of them.

Under 3512%35–4416%45–5416%55–6421%65–7425%75+11%
Holt County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,142+4.9%
Land in farms, acres1,393,478+10.7%
Average farm size, acres1,220+5.6%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$454 million+43.0%
Hay and haylage, acres232,296+5.5%
Beef cows, head96,467−4.1%
Corn for grain, acres185,409+7.0%
Cattle and calves, head220,729−13.6%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Holt County accounts for 2.2% of farm sales in Nebraska and 2.7% of the farms in Nebraska. Rank Nebraska counties for hay and haylage.

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