Farm Census

Cayuga County, New York

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

747 farms222,764 acres in farms$462 million in farm sales

No other county in New York with a published figure has more soybeans or milk cows, or sells more farm products than Cayuga County.

Its largest product group with a published figure, milk, makes up 69.5% of farm sales, against 48.2% across New York.

Milk: 69.5%Milk69.5%Grains and oilseeds: 13.5%Grains and oilseeds13.5%Cattle and calves: 6.0%6.0%Nursery and greenhouse: 3.7%3.7%Hay and other crops: 3.0%3.0%Vegetables and melons: 2.1%2.1%Poultry and eggs: 1.1%1.1%Withheld groups: 0.5%0.5%Fruit and nuts: 0.4%Other animals: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Milk: 69.5%Milk69.5%Grains and oilseeds: 13.5%13.5%Cattle and calves: 6.0%6.0%Nursery and greenhouse: 3.7%3.7%Hay and other crops: 3.0%3.0%Vegetables and melons: 2.1%2.1%Poultry and eggs: 1.1%Withheld groups: 0.5%Fruit and nuts: 0.4%Other animals: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: sheep and goat products and horses and mules.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Milk from cows$321 million1st of 47
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$62.6 million3rd of 52
Cattle and calves$27.7 million2nd of 45
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$17.2 million3rd of 49
Hay and other crops$13.7 million6th of 52
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$9.8 million17th of 52
Poultry and eggs$4.9 million7th of 42
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$2.0 million29th of 52
Other animals and animal products$457,00019th of 47
Hogs and pigs$334,0008th of 39
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$11,00043rd of 44

What the fields held

Cayuga County harvested 158,259 acres of cropland in 2022, third of 58 counties in New York. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 29% of that, corn for silage 22%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage45,9020.08%
Corn for silage34,2000.57%
Soybeans30,983under 0.1%
Corn for grain30,933under 0.1%
Wheat7,756under 0.1%
Vegetables2,9250.07%
of which potatoes33under 0.1%
Oats2,1900.24%
Dry edible beans609under 0.1%
Orchard land495under 0.1%
of which grapes153under 0.1%
of which apples2720.07%
Barley389under 0.1%
Berries92under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: sunflower.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms50.3%

Cayuga County ranks fifth of 58 counties in New York on this measure.

  • 176,139 acres of cropland, 79% of farmland
  • 12,487 acres of pastureland, 6% of farmland
  • 25,067 acres of woodland, 11% of farmland
  • 654 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Cayuga County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 90 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 298 acres, sixth-largest of 52 in New York. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 34.3% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 6.8% of the total.

1–98%10–4925%50–17934%180–49919%500–9996%1,000–1,9994%2,000+3%
Cayuga County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows48,9190.53%
Goats2,6830.11%
Cattle and calves82,7940.09%
Sheep and lambs3,0170.06%
Horses and ponies873under 0.1%
Laying hens49,801under 0.1%
Beef cows2,478under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs783under 0.1%
Turkeys91under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 20224,126under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Cayuga County's 747 farms are made by 1,324 producers. Their average age is 57.4, 0.7 years above the New York average. Women are 33.5% of them.

Under 3510%35–4415%45–5413%55–6423%65–7428%75+12%
Cayuga County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms842−11.3%
Land in farms, acres225,204−1.1%
Average farm size, acres267+11.6%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$288 million+60.5%
Corn for silage, acres33,176+3.1%
Milk cows, head42,267+15.7%
Oats, acres1,563+40.1%
Goats, head1,427+88.0%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Cayuga County accounts for 5.7% of farm sales in New York and 2.4% of the farms in New York. Rank New York counties for corn for silage.

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