Pembina County, North Dakota
Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture
482 farms616,835 acres in farms$447 million in farm sales
Among US counties with published figures, Pembina County ranks fifth for sugar beets and sixth for dry edible beans.
Women make up the fourth-smallest share of producers among the 2,346 counties with at least 500 producers.
Its soybean acreage shrank between 2017 and 2022, the steepest decline among the 100 leading soybean counties of 2017 with figures in both years.
Sales by product group
| Product group | Sales | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|
| Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas | $269 million | 13th of 53 |
| Vegetables, melons and potatoes | $87.9 million | 1st of 13 |
| Cattle and calves | $9.6 million | 37th of 49 |
| Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys | $130,000 | 16th of 34 |
| Hogs and pigs | $9,000 | 11th of 14 |
What the fields held
Pembina County harvested 523,535 acres of cropland in 2022, 14th of 53 counties in North Dakota. Wheat covered acreage equal to 39% of that, soybeans 20%.
| Crop | Acres | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat | 202,574 | 0.54% |
| Soybeans | 105,064 | 0.12% |
| Dry edible beans | 52,685 | 4.3% |
| Sugar beets | 51,078 | 4.4% |
| Canola | 36,022 | 1.7% |
| Vegetables | 21,832 | 0.51% |
| Corn for grain | 21,674 | under 0.1% |
| Barley | 11,806 | 0.49% |
| Sunflower | 8,217 | 0.52% |
| Hay and haylage | 6,867 | under 0.1% |
| Oats | 3,858 | 0.42% |
Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for silage and potatoes.
How much of the county is farmland
Share of the county land in farms86.2%
Pembina County ranks 31st of 53 counties in North Dakota on this measure.
- 582,403 acres of cropland, 94% of farmland
- 13,175 acres of pastureland, 2% of farmland
- 11,490 acres of woodland, 2% of farmland
- 3,539 acres irrigated
Farm sizes
Farms in Pembina County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 445 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 1,280 acres, 39th-largest of 53 in North Dakota. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 24.9% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 31.3% of the total.
Barns, pens and pastures
| Animals | Head | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Cattle and calves | 12,011 | under 0.1% |
| Horses and ponies | 296 | under 0.1% |
| Beef cows | 1,685 | under 0.1% |
| Goats | 66 | under 0.1% |
| Sheep and lambs | 30 | under 0.1% |
| Hogs and pigs | 60 | under 0.1% |
| Laying hens | 148 | under 0.1% |
| Turkeys | 12 | under 0.1% |
Who farms here
Decisions on Pembina County's 482 farms are made by 771 producers. Their average age is 54.6, 2.2 years below the North Dakota average. Women are 20.5% of them.
Five years earlier
| Measure | 2017 | Change to 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Farms | 481 | +0.2% |
| Land in farms, acres | 691,493 | −10.8% |
| Average farm size, acres | 1,438 | −11.0% |
| Farm products sold (current dollars) | $283 million | +58.2% |
| Sugar beets, acres | 52,868 | −3.4% |
| Dry edible beans, acres | 46,421 | +13.5% |
| Canola, acres | 12,942 | +100% |
| Wheat, acres | 182,351 | +11.1% |
Nearest rivals
- Sugar beets between Huron County, MI and Marshall County, MN
- Dry edible beans between Traill County, ND and Tuscola County, MI
- Canola between Walsh County, ND and Kittson County, MN
- Wheat between Reno County, KS and McKenzie County, ND
Counties with a similar sales mix
- Westmoreland County, Virginia largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
- Pike County, Ohio largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
- Charles County, Maryland largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 98%
Pembina County accounts for 3.7% of farm sales in North Dakota and 1.9% of the farms in North Dakota. Rank North Dakota counties for sugar beets.
Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.