Farm Census

Eddy County, New Mexico

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

346 farms640,351 acres in farms$104 million in farm sales

Since 2017 Eddy County has had the ninth-steepest drop in farm numbers among the 1,675 counties that had at least 500 farms in 2017.

Its largest product group with a published figure, milk, makes up 34.4% of farm sales, against 45.1% across New Mexico.

Milk: 34.4%Milk34.4%Fruit and nuts: 31.1%Fruit and nuts31.1%Hay and other crops: 14.6%Hay and other crops14.6%Cattle and calves: 13.2%Cattle and calves13.2%Cotton: 3.5%Cotton3.5%Withheld groups: 2.8%Withheld groups2.8%Horses and mules: 0.4%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Milk: 34.4%Milk34.4%Fruit and nuts: 31.1%Fruit and nuts31.1%Hay and other crops: 14.6%14.6%Cattle and calves: 13.2%13.2%Cotton: 3.5%Cotton3.5%Withheld groups: 2.8%2.8%Horses and mules: 0.4%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: grains and oilseeds, nursery and greenhouse crops, poultry and eggs and sheep and goat products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Milk from cows$35.8 million7th of 7
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$32.4 million2nd of 20
Hay and other crops$15.2 million4th of 25
Cattle and calves$13.8 million13th of 25
Cotton and cottonseed$3.7 million6th of 6
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$447,0008th of 28
Hogs and pigs$15,0007th of 16
Other animals and animal products$3,00020th of 20

What the fields held

Eddy County harvested 27,295 acres of cropland in 2022, fifth of 22 counties in New Mexico. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 55% of that, orchard land 23%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage15,130under 0.1%
Orchard land6,3690.10%
of which pecans6,3481.1%
Cotton2,222under 0.1%
Corn for silage2,110under 0.1%
Wheat1,341under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: dry edible beans, grapes and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms24.0%

Eddy County ranks 28th of 30 counties in New Mexico on this measure.

  • 38,917 acres of cropland, 6% of farmland
  • 595,566 acres of pastureland, 93% of farmland
  • 2,992 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 30,351 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Eddy County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 109 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 1,851 acres, 21st-largest of 30 in New Mexico. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 20.2% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 21.1% of the total.

1–920%10–4920%50–17917%180–49914%500–9998%1,000–1,9994%2,000+17%
Eddy County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows8,4130.09%
Beef cows13,552under 0.1%
Cattle and calves33,286under 0.1%
Horses and ponies697under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs888under 0.1%
Goats352under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs151under 0.1%
Laying hens614under 0.1%
Turkeys98under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022350under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Eddy County's 346 farms are made by 658 producers. Their average age is 59.0, 1.6 years below the New Mexico average. Women are 36.5% of them.

Under 358%35–4415%45–5414%55–6422%65–7426%75+16%
Eddy County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms507−31.8%
Land in farms, acres1,087,902−41.1%
Average farm size, acres2,146−13.7%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$97.3 million+7.2%
Pecans, acres6,144+3.3%
Orchard land, acres6,177+3.1%
Milk cows, head9,226−8.8%
Beef cows, head16,701−18.9%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Eddy County accounts for 3.5% of farm sales in New Mexico and 1.6% of the farms in New Mexico. Rank New Mexico counties for pecans.

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