Farm Census

San Miguel County, New Mexico

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

776 farms1,662,231 acres in farms$20.7 million in farm sales

San Miguel County's producers are among the oldest in the country, with the sixth-highest average age of the 2,346 counties that have at least 500 producers.

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

Cattle and calves: 89.1%Cattle and calves89.1%Withheld groups: 4.4%4.4%Hay and other crops: 2.7%2.7%Vegetables and melons: 2.0%2.0%Fruit and nuts: 1.5%1.5%Hogs and pigs: 0.2%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Cattle and calves: 89.1%Cattle and calves89.1%Withheld groups: 4.4%4.4%Hay and other crops: 2.7%2.7%Vegetables and melons: 2.0%2.0%Fruit and nuts: 1.5%1.5%Hogs and pigs: 0.2%Sheep and goats: 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, Christmas trees, milk, poultry and eggs, horses and mules and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$18.5 million8th of 25
Hay and other crops$552,00023rd of 25
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$411,00012th of 20
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$321,00015th of 20
Hogs and pigs$44,0001st of 16
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$11,00021st of 22
Other animals and animal products$5,00019th of 20

What the fields held

San Miguel County harvested 3,985 acres of cropland in 2022, 18th of 22 counties in New Mexico. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 86% of that.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage3,431under 0.1%
Vegetables72under 0.1%
of which potatoes2under 0.1%
Orchard land43under 0.1%
of which apples21under 0.1%
Corn for grain23under 0.1%
Berries7under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for silage and grapes.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms55.0%

San Miguel County ranks 16th of 30 counties in New Mexico on this measure.

  • 26,130 acres of cropland, 2% of farmland
  • 1,618,992 acres of pastureland, 97% of farmland
  • 107,202 acres of woodland, 6% of farmland
  • 4,831 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in San Miguel County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 134 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 2,142 acres, 18th-largest of 30 in New Mexico. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 22.3% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 21.0% of the total.

1–915%10–4917%50–17922%180–49916%500–9998%1,000–1,99910%2,000+11%
San Miguel County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Beef cows18,5730.06%
Horses and ponies1,4690.06%
Cattle and calves32,141under 0.1%
Goats344under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs252under 0.1%
Laying hens1,893under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs130under 0.1%
Milk cows10under 0.1%
Turkeys28under 0.1%

Withheld: broilers sold.

Who farms here

Decisions on San Miguel County's 776 farms are made by 1,308 producers. Their average age is 63.6, 3.0 years above the New Mexico average. Women are 35.0% of them.

Under 353%35–4410%45–5410%55–6425%65–7428%75+24%
San Miguel County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,170−33.7%
Land in farms, acres2,269,554−26.8%
Average farm size, acres1,940+10.4%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$19.1 million+8.5%
Beef cows, head24,196−23.2%
Horses and ponies, head1,889−22.2%
Cattle and calves, head46,194−30.4%
Goats, head516−33.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

San Miguel County accounts for 0.7% of farm sales in New Mexico and 3.7% of the farms in New Mexico. Rank New Mexico counties for beef cows.

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