Farm Census

Churchill County, Nevada

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

540 farms170,124 acres in farms$124 million in farm sales

No other county in Nevada with a published figure has more farms or goats than Churchill County.

Its average farm size had the ninth-largest decrease from 2017 to 2022 among the 1,674 counties with at least 500 farms in 2017.

Milk: 58.6%Milk58.6%Cattle and calves: 20.6%Cattle and calves20.6%Hay and other crops: 15.3%Hay and other crops15.3%Withheld groups: 3.0%3.0%Grains and oilseeds: 1.6%1.6%Vegetables and melons: 0.3%Horses and mules: 0.3%Fruit and nuts: 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.1%Other animals: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Milk: 58.6%Milk58.6%Cattle and calves: 20.6%Cattle and calves20.6%Hay and other crops: 15.3%Hay and other crops15.3%Withheld groups: 3.0%3.0%Grains and oilseeds: 1.6%1.6%Vegetables and melons: 0.3%Horses and mules: 0.3%Fruit and nuts: 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.1%Other animals: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: poultry and eggs and sheep and goat products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Milk from cows$72.7 million1st of 1
Cattle and calves$25.5 million4th of 9
Hay and other crops$19.0 million5th of 9
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$2.0 million2nd of 4
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$389,0002nd of 3
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$329,0004th of 6
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$153,0003rd of 6
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$122,0003rd of 4
Other animals and animal products$81,0006th of 7
Hogs and pigs$14,0001st of 4

What the fields held

Churchill County harvested 32,826 acres of cropland in 2022, seventh of 12 counties in Nevada. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 85% of that, corn for silage 11%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage27,8340.05%
Corn for silage3,5130.06%
Corn for grain1,122under 0.1%
Vegetables29under 0.1%
Orchard land20under 0.1%
of which apples6under 0.1%
Berries5under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: wheat, barley and grapes.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms5.4%

Churchill County ranks ninth of 12 counties in Nevada on this measure.

  • 38,866 acres of cropland, 23% of farmland
  • 124,787 acres of pastureland, 73% of farmland
  • 719 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 36,881 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Churchill County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 17 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 315 acres, tenth-largest of 11 in Nevada. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 37.8% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 3.9% of the total.

1–933%10–4938%50–17917%180–4996%500–9992%1,000–1,9992%2,000+2%
Churchill County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Goats7,2230.29%
Cattle and calves61,9930.07%
Horses and ponies1,4130.06%
Sheep and lambs717under 0.1%
Laying hens1,618under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows, milk cows, hogs and pigs, broilers sold and turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Churchill County's 540 farms are made by 943 producers. Their average age is 60.3, 2.9 years above the Nevada average. Women are 43.8% of them.

Under 356%35–4416%45–548%55–6423%65–7429%75+17%
Churchill County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms504+7.1%
Land in farms, acres249,832−31.9%
Average farm size, acres496−36.5%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$90.7 million+36.7%
Goats, head7,797−7.4%
Cattle and calves, head60,209+3.0%
Corn for silage, acres4,785−26.6%
Horses and ponies, head1,382+2.2%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Churchill County accounts for 12.9% of farm sales in Nevada and 17.3% of the farms in Nevada. Rank Nevada counties for goats.

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