Farm Census

Duplin County, North Carolina

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

949 farms254,164 acres in farms$2.00 billion in farm sales

Duplin County ranks seventh of 2,953 US counties for sales of livestock, poultry and their products in 2022.

Among counties with published figures, it also leads the country in hogs and pigs, ranks fifth for broilers sold and sixth for turkeys.

Its number of laying hens grew between 2017 and 2022, the second-largest increase among the 92 leading egg-laying counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Hogs and pigs: 47.0%Hogs and pigs47.0%Poultry and eggs: 45.6%Poultry and eggs45.6%Grains and oilseeds: 3.8%3.8%Vegetables and melons: 1.1%1.1%Fruit and nuts: 0.8%0.8%Hay and other crops: 0.6%0.6%Cattle and calves: 0.4%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.3%Tobacco: 0.3%Cotton: 0.1%Aquaculture: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: 47.0%Hogs and pigs47.0%Poultry and eggs: 45.6%Poultry and eggs45.6%Grains and oilseeds: 3.8%3.8%Vegetables and melons: 1.1%1.1%Fruit and nuts: 0.8%Hay and other crops: 0.6%Cattle and calves: 0.4%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.3%Tobacco: 0.3%Cotton: 0.1%Aquaculture: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: milk and horses and mules.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Hogs and pigs$941 million2nd of 61
Poultry and eggs$915 million2nd of 78
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$76.8 million4th of 91
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$22.2 million8th of 78
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$16.0 million4th of 76
Hay and other crops$11.1 million6th of 85
Cattle and calves$7.4 million11th of 83
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$5.8 million25th of 73
Tobacco$5.8 million27th of 44
Cotton and cottonseed$2.6 million30th of 33
Aquaculture$541,0008th of 12
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$73,00030th of 68
Other animals and animal products$4,00058th of 61

What the fields held

Duplin County harvested 157,668 acres of cropland in 2022, third of 97 counties in North Carolina. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 38% of that, corn for grain 28%.

CropAcresShare of US
Soybeans60,2900.07%
Corn for grain43,7270.05%
Hay and haylage21,454under 0.1%
Wheat15,453under 0.1%
Vegetables5,7010.13%
of which potatoes23under 0.1%
Cotton3,370under 0.1%
Oats1,4720.16%
Tobacco1,4570.70%
Orchard land1,216under 0.1%
of which grapes1,0800.10%
of which pecans136under 0.1%
Grain sorghum1,015under 0.1%
Peanuts7640.05%
Berries5380.15%
Corn for silage478under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: barley.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms48.7%

Duplin County ranks tenth of 97 counties in North Carolina on this measure.

  • 173,062 acres of cropland, 68% of farmland
  • 24,514 acres of pastureland, 10% of farmland
  • 44,042 acres of woodland, 17% of farmland
  • 12,976 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Duplin 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 268 acres, 27th-largest of 88 in North Carolina. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 33.9% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 6.7% of the total.

1–97%10–4928%50–17934%180–49917%500–9997%1,000–1,9994%2,000+3%
Duplin County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Hogs and pigs1,884,5732.6%
Turkeys2,152,0732.2%
Broilers sold in 2022105,578,7981.2%
Laying hens910,3290.23%
Beef cows12,093under 0.1%
Goats803under 0.1%
Cattle and calves21,940under 0.1%
Horses and ponies424under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs202under 0.1%
Milk cows34under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Duplin County's 949 farms are made by 1,487 producers. Their average age is 56.9, 1.2 years below the North Carolina average. Women are 27.4% of them.

Under 359%35–4414%45–5417%55–6426%65–7422%75+11%
Duplin County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms820+15.7%
Land in farms, acres243,098+4.6%
Average farm size, acres296−9.5%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$1.26 billion+58.8%
Hogs and pigs, head1,957,364−3.7%
Turkeys, head1,977,668+8.8%
Broilers sold, head78,902,390+33.8%
Tobacco, acres2,562−43.1%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Duplin County accounts for 10.7% of farm sales in North Carolina and 2.2% of the farms in North Carolina. Rank North Carolina counties for hogs and pigs.

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