Farm Census

Chaves County, New Mexico

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

485 farms2,309,179 acres in farms$447 million in farm sales

No other county in New Mexico with a published figure has more corn for silage, beef cows or sheep and lambs than Chaves County.

Its number of cattle and calves shrank between 2017 and 2022, the third-steepest decline among the 100 leading cattle counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Milk: 66.3%Milk66.3%Cattle and calves: 13.8%Cattle and calves13.8%Grains and oilseeds: 7.7%7.7%Hay and other crops: 7.3%Hay and other crops7.3%Fruit and nuts: 2.8%Fruit and nuts2.8%Withheld groups: 2.0%2.0%Horses and mules: 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Milk: 66.3%Milk66.3%Cattle and calves: 13.8%13.8%Grains and oilseeds: 7.7%7.7%Hay and other crops: 7.3%7.3%Fruit and nuts: 2.8%2.8%Withheld groups: 2.0%2.0%Horses and mules: 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, nursery and greenhouse crops, cotton, poultry and eggs, sheep and goat products and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Milk from cows$296 million2nd of 7
Cattle and calves$61.8 million3rd of 25
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$34.3 million1st of 16
Hay and other crops$32.6 million2nd of 25
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$12.4 million4th of 20
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$610,0004th of 28
Other animals and animal products$26,00013th of 20
Hogs and pigs$15,0006th of 16

What the fields held

Chaves County harvested 57,173 acres of cropland in 2022, third of 22 counties in New Mexico. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 63% of that, corn for silage 43%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage35,8790.07%
Corn for silage24,7380.41%
Orchard land4,4720.07%
of which pecans4,4160.73%
Cotton2,418under 0.1%
Wheat1,133under 0.1%
Grain sorghum534under 0.1%
Vegetables72under 0.1%
Berries2under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for grain, peanuts, apples and grapes.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms59.5%

Chaves County ranks 13th of 30 counties in New Mexico on this measure.

  • 123,467 acres of cropland, 5% of farmland
  • 2,137,920 acres of pastureland, 93% of farmland
  • 41,880 acres of woodland, 2% of farmland
  • 56,841 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Chaves County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 200 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 4,761 acres, fifth-largest of 30 in New Mexico. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 27.2% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 32.6% of the total.

1–915%10–4922%50–17910%180–49913%500–9998%1,000–1,9995%2,000+27%
Chaves County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows60,5620.65%
Sheep and lambs24,8420.49%
Cattle and calves144,6170.16%
Beef cows30,3020.10%
Goats1,7940.07%
Horses and ponies1,045under 0.1%
Laying hens1,330under 0.1%
Turkeys56under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs41under 0.1%

Withheld: broilers sold.

Who farms here

Decisions on Chaves County's 485 farms are made by 867 producers. Their average age is 57.9, 2.7 years below the New Mexico average. Women are 33.9% of them.

Under 357%35–4418%45–5411%55–6422%65–7430%75+11%
Chaves County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms560−13.4%
Land in farms, acres2,318,143−0.4%
Average farm size, acres4,140+15.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$405 million+10.4%
Pecans, acres3,310+33.4%
Milk cows, head83,013−27.0%
Sheep and lambs, head24,436+1.7%
Corn for silage, acres13,802+79.2%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Chaves County accounts for 15.1% of farm sales in New Mexico and 2.3% of the farms in New Mexico. Rank New Mexico counties for pecans.

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