Farm Census

Holmes County, Ohio

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,736 farms184,549 acres in farms$291 million in farm sales

No other county in Ohio with a published figure has more broilers sold, sheep and lambs or horses and ponies than Holmes County.

Producers aged 65 and over make up the second-smallest share of all producers among the 2,346 counties with at least 500 producers.

Its number of laying hens grew between 2017 and 2022, the fifth-largest increase among the 92 leading egg-laying counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Poultry and eggs: 52.5%Poultry and eggs52.5%Milk: 20.6%Milk20.6%Grains and oilseeds: 11.0%Grains and oilseeds11.0%Cattle and calves: 5.5%5.5%Horses and mules: 3.3%Horses and mules3.3%Nursery and greenhouse: 1.9%1.9%Hay and other crops: 1.7%1.7%Vegetables and melons: 0.9%0.9%Sheep and goats: 0.9%0.9%Withheld groups: 0.6%0.6%Other animals: 0.6%0.6%Fruit and nuts: 0.5%0.5%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: 52.5%Poultry and eggs52.5%Milk: 20.6%Milk20.6%Grains and oilseeds: 11.0%11.0%Cattle and calves: 5.5%5.5%Horses and mules: 3.3%3.3%Nursery and greenhouse: 1.9%1.9%Hay and other crops: 1.7%1.7%Vegetables and melons: 0.9%Sheep and goats: 0.9%Withheld groups: 0.6%Other animals: 0.6%Fruit and nuts: 0.5%Christmas trees: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: hogs and pigs and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Poultry and eggs$153 million4th of 65
Milk from cows$60.1 million4th of 61
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$32.0 million59th of 86
Cattle and calves$16.1 million13th of 75
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$9.7 million1st of 76
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$5.6 million20th of 67
Hay and other crops$5.0 million6th of 79
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$2.7 million14th of 72
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$2.5 million2nd of 79
Other animals and animal products$1.7 million4th of 66
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$1.3 million17th of 64
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$4,00035th of 36

What the fields held

Holmes County harvested 73,940 acres of cropland in 2022, 51st of 88 counties in Ohio. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 39% of that, corn for grain 29%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage28,6000.05%
Corn for grain21,694under 0.1%
Soybeans16,085under 0.1%
Corn for silage4,0760.07%
Wheat1,679under 0.1%
Oats1,4530.16%
Vegetables360under 0.1%
of which potatoes14under 0.1%
Orchard land232under 0.1%
of which grapes55under 0.1%
of which apples117under 0.1%
Barley71under 0.1%
Berries25under 0.1%

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms68.2%

Holmes County ranks 29th of 88 counties in Ohio on this measure.

  • 85,031 acres of cropland, 46% of farmland
  • 42,945 acres of pastureland, 23% of farmland
  • 52,061 acres of woodland, 28% of farmland
  • 459 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Holmes County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 54 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 106 acres, 77th-largest of 88 in Ohio. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 43.4% of farms. Fewer than 1% of farms have 1,000 acres or more.

1–917%10–4930%50–17943%180–4997%500–9992%1,000–1,9991%2,000+0%
Holmes County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Horses and ponies9,2960.39%
Broilers sold in 202226,110,7090.28%
Sheep and lambs13,5570.27%
Laying hens689,1850.18%
Milk cows12,3760.13%
Goats2,1070.08%
Cattle and calves34,280under 0.1%
Beef cows5,616under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs4,384under 0.1%
Turkeys271under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Holmes County's 1,736 farms are made by 3,230 producers. Their average age is 47.8, 8.5 years below the Ohio average. Women are 34.9% of them.

Under 3521%35–4423%45–5421%55–6420%65–7411%75+5%
Holmes County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,673+3.8%
Land in farms, acres173,925+6.1%
Average farm size, acres104+1.9%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$182 million+60.0%
Horses and ponies, head7,926+17.3%
Broilers sold, head15,917,613+64.0%
Sheep and lambs, head6,447+100%
Laying hens, head369,844+86.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Holmes County accounts for 1.9% of farm sales in Ohio and 2.3% of the farms in Ohio. Rank Ohio counties for horses and ponies.

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