Farm Census

Curry County, New Mexico

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

665 farms891,911 acres in farms$522 million in farm sales

No other county in New Mexico with a published figure has more wheat, hay and haylage, cattle and calves or milk cows, or sells more farm products than Curry County.

Its largest product group with a published figure, milk, makes up 67.4% of farm sales, against 45.1% across New Mexico.

Milk: 67.4%Milk67.4%Cattle and calves: 22.2%Cattle and calves22.2%Grains and oilseeds: 5.9%Grains and oilseeds5.9%Hay and other crops: 3.1%3.1%Cotton: 1.1%1.1%Vegetables and melons: 0.3%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Milk: 67.4%Milk67.4%Cattle and calves: 22.2%Cattle and calves22.2%Grains and oilseeds: 5.9%5.9%Hay and other crops: 3.1%3.1%Cotton: 1.1%Vegetables and melons: 0.3%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: fruit and nuts, nursery and greenhouse crops, sheep and goat products, aquaculture products and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Milk from cows$352 million1st of 7
Cattle and calves$116 million1st of 25
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$30.8 million3rd of 16
Hay and other crops$16.0 million3rd of 25
Cotton and cottonseed$5.8 million3rd of 6
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$1.8 million6th of 20
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$236,00014th of 28
Hogs and pigs$25,0002nd of 16
Poultry and eggs$22,00013th of 16

What the fields held

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage91,6100.17%
Wheat45,7590.12%
Grain sorghum21,4610.46%
Corn for silage18,8970.32%
Cotton5,8950.08%
Corn for grain891under 0.1%
Vegetables391under 0.1%
Berries1under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: soybeans, canola, potatoes, orchard land, apples, pecans and grapes.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms99.2%

Curry County ranks second of 30 counties in New Mexico on this measure.

  • 446,772 acres of cropland, 50% of farmland
  • 458,662 acres of pastureland, 51% of farmland
  • 58,440 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Curry 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 1,341 acres, 23rd-largest of 30 in New Mexico. The most common size class is 180–499 acres, with 22.4% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 28.0% of the total.

1–97%10–497%50–17921%180–49922%500–99914%1,000–1,99911%2,000+17%
Curry County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows78,3690.84%
Cattle and calves243,0830.28%
Beef cows12,790under 0.1%
Horses and ponies587under 0.1%
Goats251under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs406under 0.1%
Laying hens697under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs120under 0.1%
Turkeys10under 0.1%

Withheld: broilers sold.

Who farms here

Decisions on Curry County's 665 farms are made by 1,192 producers. Their average age is 60.2, 0.4 years below the New Mexico average. Women are 41.9% of them.

Under 3510%35–446%45–5415%55–6427%65–7427%75+15%
Curry County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms641+3.7%
Land in farms, acres902,165−1.1%
Average farm size, acres1,407−4.7%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$481 million+8.7%
Milk cows, head90,160−13.1%
Grain sorghum, acres24,895−13.8%
Corn for silage, acres17,059+10.8%
Cattle and calves, head278,763−12.8%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Curry County accounts for 17.7% of farm sales in New Mexico and 3.2% of the farms in New Mexico. Rank New Mexico counties for milk cows.

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