Farm Census

Cass County, North Dakota

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

801 farms941,171 acres in farms$613 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Cass County ranks second for soybeans and sixth for sales of grains and oilseeds.

Within North Dakota, no other county with a published figure has more corn for grain, or sells more farm products.

Grains and oilseeds: 92.5%Grains and oilseeds92.5%Hay and other crops: 4.2%4.2%Other animals: 1.8%1.8%Cattle and calves: 0.7%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.4%Milk: 0.2%Fruit and nuts: 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Vegetables and melons: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 92.5%Grains and oilseeds92.5%Hay and other crops: 4.2%4.2%Other animals: 1.8%1.8%Cattle and calves: 0.7%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.4%Milk: 0.2%Fruit and nuts: 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Vegetables and melons: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: hogs and pigs and horses and mules.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$567 million1st of 53
Hay and other crops$25.5 million5th of 36
Other animals and animal products$11.2 million1st of 31
Cattle and calves$4.0 million46th of 49
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$2.3 million1st of 4
Milk from cows$929,0005th of 6
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$606,0001st of 5
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$198,00012th of 30
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$156,0008th of 13
Poultry and eggs$39,0003rd of 22

What the fields held

Cass County harvested 810,026 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 53 counties in North Dakota. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 48% of that, corn for grain 29%.

CropAcresShare of US
Soybeans387,8300.46%
Corn for grain238,2490.30%
Wheat90,5330.24%
Sunflower28,5821.8%
Barley16,1000.66%
Hay and haylage14,435under 0.1%
Dry edible beans14,1021.1%
Sugar beets13,0051.1%
Oats2,4330.27%
Corn for silage644under 0.1%
Orchard land41under 0.1%
of which grapes22under 0.1%
Vegetables16under 0.1%
of which potatoes2under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: canola, apples and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms83.3%

Cass County ranks 40th of 53 counties in North Dakota on this measure.

  • 909,160 acres of cropland, 97% of farmland
  • 18,397 acres of pastureland, 2% of farmland
  • 2,225 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 11,724 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Cass County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 382 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 1,175 acres, 44th-largest of 53 in North Dakota. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 20.1% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 33.6% of the total.

1–94%10–4919%50–17917%180–49914%500–99912%1,000–1,99913%2,000+20%
Cass County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Sheep and lambs1,327under 0.1%
Horses and ponies314under 0.1%
Beef cows3,117under 0.1%
Goats248under 0.1%
Cattle and calves6,118under 0.1%
Milk cows251under 0.1%
Laying hens856under 0.1%

Withheld: hogs and pigs.

Who farms here

Decisions on Cass County's 801 farms are made by 1,353 producers. Their average age is 55.9, 0.9 years below the North Dakota average. Women are 29.0% of them.

Under 3510%35–4414%45–5419%55–6427%65–7421%75+8%
Cass County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms784+2.2%
Land in farms, acres1,126,085−16.4%
Average farm size, acres1,436−18.2%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$439 million+39.4%
Sunflower, acres7,286+100%
Dry edible beans, acres11,804+19.5%
Sugar beets, acres17,477−25.6%
Barley, acres12,082+33.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Cass County accounts for 5.0% of farm sales in North Dakota and 3.2% of the farms in North Dakota. Rank North Dakota counties for sunflower.

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