Farm Census

Darke County, Ohio

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,761 farms366,642 acres in farms$1.19 billion in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Darke County ranks fourth for laying hens and tenth for sales of poultry and eggs.

Within Ohio, no other county with a published figure has more land in farms, corn for grain or hogs and pigs, or sells more farm products.

Measured in current dollars, its farm sales had the eighth-largest rise from 2017 to 2022 among the 1,136 counties that sold at least $100 million in 2017.

Poultry and eggs: 53.3%Poultry and eggs53.3%Grains and oilseeds: 24.0%Grains and oilseeds24.0%Hogs and pigs: 14.2%Hogs and pigs14.2%Cattle and calves: 4.7%4.7%Milk: 3.4%Milk3.4%Hay and other crops: 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.1%Vegetables and melons: 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: 53.3%Poultry and eggs53.3%Grains and oilseeds: 24.0%Grains and oilseeds24.0%Hogs and pigs: 14.2%Hogs and pigs14.2%Cattle and calves: 4.7%4.7%Milk: 3.4%Milk3.4%Hay and other crops: 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.1%Vegetables and melons: 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Poultry and eggs$636 million1st of 65
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$287 million1st of 86
Hogs and pigs$169 million1st of 68
Cattle and calves$56.6 million2nd of 75
Milk from cows$40.2 million9th of 61
Hay and other crops$1.7 million48th of 79
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$1.6 million40th of 67
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$709,00041st of 72
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$320,00039th of 64
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$295,00029th of 79
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$227,00050th of 76
Other animals and animal products$70,00051st of 66

What the fields held

Darke County harvested 320,829 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 88 counties in Ohio. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 48% of that, corn for grain 44%.

CropAcresShare of US
Soybeans154,2190.18%
Corn for grain140,8540.17%
Wheat11,403under 0.1%
Hay and haylage8,962under 0.1%
Corn for silage6,1000.10%
Oats384under 0.1%
Vegetables187under 0.1%
of which potatoes1under 0.1%
Sunflower108under 0.1%
Orchard land54under 0.1%
of which grapes11under 0.1%
Barley47under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: apples and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms95.8%

Darke County ranks second of 88 counties in Ohio on this measure.

  • 337,189 acres of cropland, 92% of farmland
  • 4,961 acres of pastureland, 1% of farmland
  • 13,680 acres of woodland, 4% of farmland
  • 366 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Darke County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 57 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 208 acres, 29th-largest of 88 in Ohio. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 30.9% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 4.8% of the total.

1–915%10–4931%50–17926%180–49916%500–9997%1,000–1,9994%2,000+1%
Darke County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Laying hens8,610,5842.2%
Turkeys818,3200.84%
Hogs and pigs356,1830.48%
Milk cows7,3310.08%
Cattle and calves54,5820.06%
Goats797under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs1,517under 0.1%
Horses and ponies678under 0.1%
Beef cows3,034under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022411,246under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Darke County's 1,761 farms are made by 2,917 producers. Their average age is 55.7, 0.6 years below the Ohio average. Women are 29.4% of them.

Under 3511%35–4417%45–5417%55–6421%65–7422%75+12%
Darke County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,658+6.2%
Land in farms, acres343,774+6.7%
Average farm size, acres207+0.5%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$516 million+100%
Laying hens, head5,184,982+66.1%
Turkeys, head740,259+10.5%
Hogs and pigs, head240,196+48.3%
Soybeans, acres154,962−0.5%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Darke County accounts for 7.7% of farm sales in Ohio and 2.3% of the farms in Ohio. Rank Ohio counties for laying hens.

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