Farm Census

Richland County, North Dakota

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

894 farms795,490 acres in farms$473 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Richland County ranks ninth for soybeans.

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

Grains and oilseeds: 86.4%Grains and oilseeds86.4%Hay and other crops: 9.2%9.2%Cattle and calves: 3.2%3.2%Withheld groups: 0.8%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Other animals: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 86.4%Grains and oilseeds86.4%Hay and other crops: 9.2%Hay and other crops9.2%Cattle and calves: 3.2%3.2%Withheld groups: 0.8%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Other animals: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, fruit and nuts, nursery and greenhouse crops, poultry and eggs and horses and mules.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$408 million2nd of 53
Hay and other crops$43.7 million4th of 36
Cattle and calves$15.3 million29th of 49
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$1.1 million1st of 30
Other animals and animal products$332,00025th of 31
Hogs and pigs$19,0009th of 14

What the fields held

Richland County harvested 646,171 acres of cropland in 2022, eighth of 53 counties in North Dakota. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 45% of that, corn for grain 35%.

CropAcresShare of US
Soybeans293,0450.35%
Corn for grain224,1720.28%
Wheat51,4050.14%
Sugar beets32,1482.8%
Hay and haylage25,839under 0.1%
Sunflower11,1070.70%
Corn for silage2,970under 0.1%
Canola2,0600.10%
Barley1,5200.06%
Dry edible beans8690.07%
Oats455under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: potatoes, vegetables and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms86.6%

Richland County ranks 30th of 53 counties in North Dakota on this measure.

  • 741,871 acres of cropland, 93% of farmland
  • 34,683 acres of pastureland, 4% of farmland
  • 3,904 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 6,118 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Richland County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 320 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 890 acres, 51st-largest of 53 in North Dakota. The most common size class is 180–499 acres, with 21.8% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 23.9% of the total.

1–93%10–4915%50–17921%180–49922%500–99916%1,000–1,99912%2,000+12%
Richland County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Goats840under 0.1%
Beef cows8,876under 0.1%
Cattle and calves21,927under 0.1%
Horses and ponies432under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs143under 0.1%

Withheld: laying hens, broilers sold, turkeys and sheep and lambs.

Who farms here

Decisions on Richland County's 894 farms are made by 1,660 producers. Their average age is 55.7, 1.1 years below the North Dakota average. Women are 27.8% of them.

Under 3514%35–4416%45–5411%55–6424%65–7424%75+12%
Richland County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms846+5.7%
Land in farms, acres875,444−9.1%
Average farm size, acres1,035−14.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$391 million+21.0%
Sugar beets, acres28,164+14.1%
Sunflower, acres3,913+100%
Soybeans, acres351,437−16.6%
Corn for grain, acres305,542−26.6%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Richland County accounts for 3.9% of farm sales in North Dakota and 3.6% of the farms in North Dakota. Rank North Dakota counties for sugar beets.

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