Farm Census

Grand Forks County, North Dakota

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

956 farms761,755 acres in farms$440 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Grand Forks County ranks third for dry edible beans and tenth for sugar beets.

Within North Dakota, no other county with a published figure has more farms.

Grains and oilseeds: 67.0%Grains and oilseeds67.0%Hay and other crops: 12.8%Hay and other crops12.8%Vegetables and melons: 11.1%11.1%Hogs and pigs: 6.1%Hogs and pigs6.1%Withheld groups: 1.6%1.6%Cattle and calves: 1.3%1.3%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 67.0%Grains and oilseeds67.0%Hay and other crops: 12.8%12.8%Vegetables and melons: 11.1%11.1%Hogs and pigs: 6.1%6.1%Withheld groups: 1.6%1.6%Cattle and calves: 1.3%1.3%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: poultry and eggs and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$295 million9th of 53
Hay and other crops$56.3 million2nd of 36
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$48.7 million2nd of 13
Hogs and pigs$27.0 million1st of 14
Cattle and calves$5.6 million45th of 49
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$90,00017th of 30
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$12,00034th of 34
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$9,0003rd of 5

What the fields held

Grand Forks County harvested 542,481 acres of cropland in 2022, 13th of 53 counties in North Dakota. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 31% of that, wheat 22%.

CropAcresShare of US
Soybeans166,3000.20%
Wheat121,2160.33%
Corn for grain92,2250.11%
Dry edible beans66,5295.4%
Sugar beets37,4603.2%
Sunflower20,3311.3%
Vegetables13,2750.31%
Hay and haylage11,575under 0.1%
Canola5,9080.27%
Barley5,3310.22%
Oats204under 0.1%
Corn for silage118under 0.1%
Orchard land15under 0.1%
of which grapes2under 0.1%
of which apples7under 0.1%
Berries2under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: grain sorghum and potatoes.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms82.9%

Grand Forks County ranks 41st of 53 counties in North Dakota on this measure.

  • 694,049 acres of cropland, 91% of farmland
  • 27,436 acres of pastureland, 4% of farmland
  • 6,677 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 25,594 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Grand Forks County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 212 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 797 acres, 53rd-largest of 53 in North Dakota. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 28.9% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 21.4% of the total.

1–91%10–4916%50–17929%180–49923%500–99910%1,000–1,99910%2,000+12%
Grand Forks County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Hogs and pigs30,523under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs804under 0.1%
Horses and ponies322under 0.1%
Goats293under 0.1%
Cattle and calves8,130under 0.1%
Turkeys30under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows, milk cows, laying hens and broilers sold.

Who farms here

Decisions on Grand Forks County's 956 farms are made by 1,579 producers. Their average age is 58.1, 1.3 years above the North Dakota average. Women are 30.5% of them.

Under 359%35–4415%45–5413%55–6422%65–7427%75+13%
Grand Forks County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms889+7.5%
Land in farms, acres798,480−4.6%
Average farm size, acres898−11.2%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$318 million+38.2%
Dry edible beans, acres86,562−23.1%
Sugar beets, acres35,413+5.8%
Sunflower, acres4,289+100%
Wheat, acres127,562−5.0%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Grand Forks County accounts for 3.6% of farm sales in North Dakota and 3.8% of the farms in North Dakota. Rank North Dakota counties for dry edible beans.

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