Farm Census

Wayne County, Ohio

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

2,084 farms259,339 acres in farms$554 million in farm sales

No other county in Ohio with a published figure has more farms, corn for silage, hay and haylage or milk cows than Wayne County.

Its largest product group, milk, makes up 31.9% of farm sales, against 8.6% across Ohio.

Milk: 31.9%Milk31.9%Poultry and eggs: 29.0%Poultry and eggs29.0%Grains and oilseeds: 20.2%Grains and oilseeds20.2%Cattle and calves: 7.5%7.5%Hogs and pigs: 3.5%3.5%Hay and other crops: 2.0%2.0%Nursery and greenhouse: 1.4%1.4%Fruit and nuts: 1.2%1.2%Horses and mules: 1.1%1.1%Vegetables and melons: 0.7%0.7%Sheep and goats: 0.6%0.6%Other animals: 0.5%0.5%Christmas trees: 0.3%0.3%Aquaculture: 0.1%Milk: 31.9%Milk31.9%Poultry and eggs: 29.0%Poultry and eggs29.0%Grains and oilseeds: 20.2%Grains and oilseeds20.2%Cattle and calves: 7.5%7.5%Hogs and pigs: 3.5%3.5%Hay and other crops: 2.0%2.0%Nursery and greenhouse: 1.4%1.4%Fruit and nuts: 1.2%1.2%Horses and mules: 1.1%1.1%Vegetables and melons: 0.7%Sheep and goats: 0.6%Other animals: 0.5%Christmas trees: 0.3%Aquaculture: 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Milk from cows$177 million1st of 61
Poultry and eggs$161 million3rd of 65
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$112 million36th of 86
Cattle and calves$41.7 million3rd of 75
Hogs and pigs$19.2 million23rd of 68
Hay and other crops$11.0 million1st of 79
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$7.9 million14th of 67
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$6.7 million1st of 64
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$6.1 million2nd of 76
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$3.8 million12th of 72
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$3.5 million1st of 79
Other animals and animal products$2.5 million3rd of 66
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$1.8 million2nd of 36
Aquaculture$698,0001st of 14

What the fields held

Wayne County harvested 184,511 acres of cropland in 2022, 20th of 88 counties in Ohio. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 33% of that, soybeans 28%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain60,7140.08%
Soybeans51,4080.06%
Hay and haylage41,7520.08%
Corn for silage17,0490.29%
Wheat9,347under 0.1%
Oats2,0440.22%
Vegetables789under 0.1%
of which potatoes31under 0.1%
Barley530under 0.1%
Orchard land480under 0.1%
of which grapes94under 0.1%
of which apples2520.06%
Berries106under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: grain sorghum and sunflower.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms73.0%

Wayne County ranks 25th of 88 counties in Ohio on this measure.

  • 199,017 acres of cropland, 77% of farmland
  • 31,877 acres of pastureland, 12% of farmland
  • 21,005 acres of woodland, 8% of farmland
  • 1,024 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Wayne County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 39 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 124 acres, 70th-largest of 88 in Ohio. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 36.3% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 1.7% of the total.

1–919%10–4936%50–17929%180–49910%500–9994%1,000–1,9991%2,000+0%
Wayne County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows30,8770.33%
Broilers sold in 202224,989,6010.27%
Horses and ponies6,1680.26%
Sheep and lambs11,8600.23%
Laying hens620,2970.16%
Goats3,1050.12%
Cattle and calves75,1900.09%
Hogs and pigs33,392under 0.1%
Beef cows5,799under 0.1%
Turkeys195under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Wayne County's 2,084 farms are made by 3,883 producers. Their average age is 51.1, 5.2 years below the Ohio average. Women are 35.3% of them.

Under 3518%35–4420%45–5418%55–6421%65–7416%75+7%
Wayne County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms2,034+2.5%
Land in farms, acres251,996+2.9%
Average farm size, acres1240.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$328 million+69.0%
Milk cows, head33,772−8.6%
Corn for silage, acres18,784−9.2%
Broilers sold, head13,091,848+90.9%
Horses and ponies, head4,886+26.2%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Wayne County accounts for 3.6% of farm sales in Ohio and 2.7% of the farms in Ohio. Rank Ohio counties for milk cows.

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