Farm Census

Walsh County, North Dakota

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

850 farms734,006 acres in farms$469 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Walsh County ranks second for dry edible beans and sugar beets.

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

Grains and oilseeds: 58.6%Grains and oilseeds58.6%Hay and other crops: 20.8%Hay and other crops20.8%Withheld groups: 19.2%Withheld groups19.2%Other animals: 0.7%0.7%Cattle and calves: 0.6%0.6%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 58.6%Grains and oilseeds58.6%Hay and other crops: 20.8%Hay and other crops20.8%Withheld groups: 19.2%Withheld groups19.2%Other animals: 0.7%Cattle and calves: 0.6%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: 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, milk and hogs and pigs.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$275 million12th of 53
Hay and other crops$97.5 million1st of 36
Other animals and animal products$3.5 million12th of 31
Cattle and calves$3.0 million47th of 49
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$48,00029th of 34
Poultry and eggs$26,0008th of 22
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$8,00029th of 30

What the fields held

Walsh County harvested 549,181 acres of cropland in 2022, 12th of 53 counties in North Dakota. Wheat covered acreage equal to 31% of that, soybeans 18%.

CropAcresShare of US
Wheat171,2380.46%
Soybeans98,8270.12%
Dry edible beans67,6575.5%
Sugar beets61,1095.3%
Canola37,7681.8%
Corn for grain35,737under 0.1%
Vegetables23,6430.55%
Sunflower20,1061.3%
Hay and haylage16,775under 0.1%
Barley11,5660.48%
Oats7800.09%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for silage, potatoes, orchard land and apples.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms89.5%

Walsh County ranks 22nd of 53 counties in North Dakota on this measure.

  • 679,748 acres of cropland, 93% of farmland
  • 20,606 acres of pastureland, 3% of farmland
  • 9,295 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 1,632 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Walsh County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 285 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 864 acres, 52nd-largest of 53 in North Dakota. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 27.9% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 23.9% of the total.

1–93%10–4910%50–17928%180–49923%500–99912%1,000–1,99910%2,000+14%
Walsh County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Beef cows2,980under 0.1%
Horses and ponies141under 0.1%
Cattle and calves4,862under 0.1%
Goats118under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs64under 0.1%
Laying hens217under 0.1%
Turkeys19under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022840under 0.1%

Withheld: hogs and pigs.

Who farms here

Decisions on Walsh County's 850 farms are made by 1,602 producers. Their average age is 57.4, 0.6 years above the North Dakota average. Women are 28.7% of them.

Under 3510%35–4413%45–5414%55–6428%65–7425%75+11%
Walsh County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms763+11.4%
Land in farms, acres804,520−8.8%
Average farm size, acres1,054−18.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$336 million+39.7%
Dry edible beans, acres83,731−19.2%
Sugar beets, acres49,188+24.2%
Canola, acres40,097−5.8%
Sunflower, acres4,819+100%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Walsh County accounts for 3.9% of farm sales in North Dakota and 3.4% 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.