Farm Census

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

4,680 farms378,574 acres in farms$1.85 billion in farm sales

Lancaster County ranks tenth of 2,953 US counties for sales of livestock, poultry and their products in 2022.

Among counties with published figures, it also leads the country in laying hens, ranks second for number of farms, sixth for horses and ponies and seventh for sales of poultry and eggs.

Within Pennsylvania, no other county with a published figure has more land in farms, corn for grain, corn for silage, soybeans or wheat.

Producers under 35 make up the third-largest share of the farming population among the 2,346 counties with at least 500 producers.

Poultry and eggs: 41.8%Poultry and eggs41.8%Milk: 22.8%Milk22.8%Hogs and pigs: 9.9%Hogs and pigs9.9%Grains and oilseeds: 9.7%Grains and oilseeds9.7%Cattle and calves: 7.2%Cattle and calves7.2%Nursery and greenhouse: 3.6%3.6%Vegetables and melons: 1.5%1.5%Hay and other crops: 1.0%1.0%Tobacco: 0.9%0.9%Fruit and nuts: 0.7%0.7%Horses and mules: 0.3%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Other animals: 0.2%Christmas trees: 0.1%Aquaculture: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: 41.8%Poultry and eggs41.8%Milk: 22.8%Milk22.8%Hogs and pigs: 9.9%9.9%Grains and oilseeds: 9.7%9.7%Cattle and calves: 7.2%7.2%Nursery and greenhouse: 3.6%3.6%Vegetables and melons: 1.5%1.5%Hay and other crops: 1.0%1.0%Tobacco: 0.9%0.9%Fruit and nuts: 0.7%Horses and mules: 0.3%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Other animals: 0.2%Christmas trees: 0.1%Aquaculture: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Poultry and eggs$775 million1st of 56
Milk from cows$423 million1st of 57
Hogs and pigs$183 million1st of 51
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$181 million1st of 63
Cattle and calves$133 million1st of 62
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$67.4 million3rd of 55
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$28.7 million2nd of 60
Hay and other crops$19.0 million1st of 61
Tobacco$16.3 million1st of 7
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$13.2 million4th of 62
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$6.3 million3rd of 48
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$4.3 million1st of 55
Other animals and animal products$3.4 million2nd of 49
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$1.5 million6th of 48
Aquaculture$187,0004th of 16

What the fields held

Lancaster County harvested 273,709 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 65 counties in Pennsylvania. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 35% of that, hay and haylage 24%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain95,5490.12%
Hay and haylage65,1420.12%
Soybeans51,6950.06%
Corn for silage35,9880.60%
Wheat24,1010.06%
Barley5,0830.21%
Vegetables4,3410.10%
of which potatoes165under 0.1%
Tobacco2,1151.0%
Orchard land1,393under 0.1%
of which grapes418under 0.1%
of which apples5780.14%
of which pecans4under 0.1%
Oats5990.07%
Grain sorghum282under 0.1%
Berries1880.05%
Dry edible beans98under 0.1%

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms62.7%

Lancaster County ranks first of 67 counties in Pennsylvania on this measure.

  • 295,545 acres of cropland, 78% of farmland
  • 36,881 acres of pastureland, 10% of farmland
  • 31,911 acres of woodland, 8% of farmland
  • 4,361 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Lancaster County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 40 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 81 acres, 59th-largest of 62 in Pennsylvania. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 36.0% of farms. Fewer than 1% of farms have 1,000 acres or more.

1–920%10–4934%50–17936%180–4998%500–9991%1,000–1,9990%2,000+0%
Lancaster County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Laying hens13,735,3523.5%
Milk cows76,0210.82%
Broilers sold in 202261,240,0610.67%
Horses and ponies11,8030.49%
Hogs and pigs322,1530.44%
Goats6,2210.25%
Turkeys235,7580.24%
Cattle and calves182,2180.21%
Sheep and lambs10,1110.20%
Beef cows5,541under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Lancaster County's 4,680 farms are made by 8,599 producers. Their average age is 48.3, 7.1 years below the Pennsylvania average. Women are 34.2% of them.

Under 3524%35–4420%45–5419%55–6419%65–7412%75+6%
Lancaster County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms5,108−8.4%
Land in farms, acres393,949−3.9%
Average farm size, acres77+5.2%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$1.51 billion+23.0%
Laying hens, head13,914,918−1.3%
Tobacco, acres5,680−62.8%
Milk cows, head106,429−28.6%
Broilers sold, head55,606,648+10.1%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Lancaster County accounts for 18.0% of farm sales in Pennsylvania and 9.5% of the farms in Pennsylvania. Rank Pennsylvania counties for laying hens.

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