Farm Census

Putnam County, Ohio

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,471 farms306,504 acres in farms$392 million in farm sales

No other county in Ohio with a published figure has more soybeans or wheat than Putnam County.

Women make up the second-smallest share of producers among the 2,346 counties with at least 500 producers.

Grains and oilseeds: 58.6%Grains and oilseeds58.6%Hogs and pigs: 16.8%Hogs and pigs16.8%Milk: 11.3%Milk11.3%Cattle and calves: 6.1%6.1%Vegetables and melons: 3.6%3.6%Withheld groups: 2.7%2.7%Hay and other crops: 0.7%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 58.6%Grains and oilseeds58.6%Hogs and pigs: 16.8%Hogs and pigs16.8%Milk: 11.3%Milk11.3%Cattle and calves: 6.1%6.1%Vegetables and melons: 3.6%3.6%Withheld groups: 2.7%2.7%Hay and other crops: 0.7%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: nursery and greenhouse crops, Christmas trees, poultry and eggs and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$230 million2nd of 86
Hogs and pigs$65.9 million7th of 68
Milk from cows$44.4 million5th of 61
Cattle and calves$24.1 million8th of 75
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$14.1 million1st of 72
Hay and other crops$2.6 million31st of 79
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$422,00022nd of 79
Other animals and animal products$73,00050th of 66
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$57,00067th of 76

What the fields held

Putnam County harvested 282,714 acres of cropland in 2022, second of 88 counties in Ohio. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 58% of that, corn for grain 29%.

CropAcresShare of US
Soybeans163,7240.19%
Corn for grain83,3810.10%
Wheat26,2010.07%
Hay and haylage7,788under 0.1%
Vegetables2,085under 0.1%
Corn for silage1,949under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: barley, oats and potatoes.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms99.3%

Putnam County ranks first of 88 counties in Ohio on this measure.

  • 291,513 acres of cropland, 95% of farmland
  • 907 acres of pastureland, 0% of farmland
  • 7,353 acres of woodland, 2% of farmland
  • 965 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Putnam County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 83 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 208 acres, 30th-largest of 88 in Ohio. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 31.2% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 3.7% of the total.

1–910%10–4926%50–17931%180–49922%500–9997%1,000–1,9993%2,000+1%
Putnam County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Hogs and pigs152,2560.21%
Milk cows7,9930.09%
Goats1,258under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs1,782under 0.1%
Cattle and calves21,945under 0.1%
Horses and ponies114under 0.1%
Beef cows728under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 202270under 0.1%

Withheld: laying hens and turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Putnam County's 1,471 farms are made by 2,450 producers. Their average age is 55.7, 0.6 years below the Ohio average. Women are 18.9% of them.

Under 3512%35–4416%45–5413%55–6426%65–7424%75+9%
Putnam County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,335+10.2%
Land in farms, acres304,862+0.5%
Average farm size, acres228−8.8%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$214 million+82.9%
Hogs and pigs, head119,011+27.9%
Soybeans, acres163,194+0.3%
Corn for grain, acres79,496+4.9%
Milk cows, head4,982+60.4%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Putnam County accounts for 2.5% of farm sales in Ohio and 1.9% of the farms in Ohio. Rank Ohio counties for hogs and pigs.

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