Farm Census

Cavalier County, North Dakota

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

527 farms874,459 acres in farms$410 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Cavalier County leads the country in canola.

Women make up the smallest share of producers among the 2,346 counties with at least 500 producers.

Its soybean acreage shrank between 2017 and 2022, the third-steepest decline among the 100 leading soybean counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Grains and oilseeds: 98.3%Grains and oilseeds98.3%Withheld groups: 1.5%Hay and other crops: 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 98.3%Grains and oilseeds98.3%Withheld groups: 1.5%Hay and other crops: 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, cattle and calves, hogs and pigs and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$403 million3rd of 53
Hay and other crops$521,00036th of 36
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$50,0002nd of 5
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$40,00025th of 30
Poultry and eggs$14,00012th of 22

What the fields held

Cavalier County harvested 730,033 acres of cropland in 2022, fourth of 53 counties in North Dakota. Wheat covered acreage equal to 41% of that, canola 35%.

CropAcresShare of US
Wheat298,1990.80%
Canola256,87811.9%
Soybeans118,9840.14%
Barley18,8250.77%
Dry edible beans11,1180.90%
Sunflower9,7600.61%
Corn for grain4,412under 0.1%
Hay and haylage2,570under 0.1%
Oats7240.08%
Vegetables11under 0.1%
of which potatoes1under 0.1%
Orchard land3under 0.1%
of which grapes2under 0.1%
of which apples1under 0.1%
Berries2under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for silage.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms91.8%

Cavalier County ranks 17th of 53 counties in North Dakota on this measure.

  • 824,660 acres of cropland, 94% of farmland
  • 6,335 acres of pastureland, 1% of farmland
  • 7,150 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 2,592 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Cavalier County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 1,120 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 1,659 acres, 21st-largest of 53 in North Dakota. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 29.2% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 55.4% of the total.

1–90%10–499%50–1799%180–49915%500–99913%1,000–1,99926%2,000+29%
Cavalier County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Sheep and lambs249under 0.1%
Horses and ponies38under 0.1%
Beef cows432under 0.1%
Cattle and calves786under 0.1%
Laying hens135under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022750under 0.1%

Withheld: hogs and pigs.

Who farms here

Decisions on Cavalier County's 527 farms are made by 869 producers. Their average age is 53.8, 3.0 years below the North Dakota average. Women are 18.8% of them.

Under 3519%35–4415%45–5413%55–6425%65–7417%75+11%
Cavalier County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms523+0.8%
Land in farms, acres928,239−5.8%
Average farm size, acres1,775−6.5%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$281 million+46.1%
Canola, acres252,852+1.6%
Dry edible beans, acres20,727−46.4%
Wheat, acres295,858+0.8%
Barley, acres15,798+19.2%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Cavalier County accounts for 3.4% of farm sales in North Dakota and 2.1% of the farms in North Dakota. Rank North Dakota counties for canola.

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