Farm Census

Orangeburg County, South Carolina

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

764 farms230,111 acres in farms$304 million in farm sales

No other county in South Carolina with a published figure has more land in farms or cotton, or sells more farm products than Orangeburg County.

Its largest product group with a published figure, poultry and eggs, makes up 49.5% of farm sales, against 56.6% across South Carolina.

Poultry and eggs: 49.5%Poultry and eggs49.5%Grains and oilseeds: 14.8%Grains and oilseeds14.8%Nursery and greenhouse: 13.2%Nursery and greenhouse13.2%Cotton: 9.9%Cotton9.9%Hay and other crops: 3.4%3.4%Withheld groups: 3.0%3.0%Milk: 2.6%Milk2.6%Vegetables and melons: 1.9%1.9%Fruit and nuts: 1.6%1.6%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Aquaculture: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: 49.5%Poultry and eggs49.5%Grains and oilseeds: 14.8%Grains and oilseeds14.8%Nursery and greenhouse: 13.2%13.2%Cotton: 9.9%Cotton9.9%Hay and other crops: 3.4%3.4%Withheld groups: 3.0%3.0%Milk: 2.6%Milk2.6%Vegetables and melons: 1.9%Fruit and nuts: 1.6%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Aquaculture: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: cattle and calves, hogs and pigs and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Poultry and eggs$150 million6th of 41
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$44.9 million4th of 38
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$40.0 million2nd of 34
Cotton and cottonseed$30.2 million2nd of 26
Hay and other crops$10.4 million3rd of 43
Milk from cows$7.9 million1st of 3
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$5.6 million10th of 34
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$5.0 million7th of 27
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$120,0008th of 31
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$37,00030th of 37
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$9,0008th of 11
Aquaculture$8,0007th of 8

What the fields held

Orangeburg County harvested 123,993 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 46 counties in South Carolina. Cotton covered acreage equal to 30% of that, corn for grain 28%.

CropAcresShare of US
Cotton36,7740.48%
Corn for grain34,228under 0.1%
Soybeans24,319under 0.1%
Peanuts9,0700.64%
Hay and haylage7,566under 0.1%
Wheat3,592under 0.1%
Vegetables1,661under 0.1%
of which potatoes3under 0.1%
Orchard land743under 0.1%
of which grapes5under 0.1%
of which apples7under 0.1%
Oats5180.06%
Corn for silage476under 0.1%
Grain sorghum375under 0.1%
Berries30under 0.1%
Sunflower28under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: pecans.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms32.5%

Orangeburg County ranks 12th of 46 counties in South Carolina on this measure.

  • 142,257 acres of cropland, 62% of farmland
  • 12,460 acres of pastureland, 5% of farmland
  • 68,027 acres of woodland, 30% of farmland
  • 30,191 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Orangeburg County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 90 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 301 acres, 15th-largest of 46 in South Carolina. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 31.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 8.0% of the total.

1–97%10–4927%50–17932%180–49919%500–9998%1,000–1,9994%2,000+4%
Orangeburg County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Broilers sold in 202220,167,4250.22%
Laying hens412,2740.11%
Goats1,010under 0.1%
Horses and ponies375under 0.1%
Milk cows1,277under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs424under 0.1%
Beef cows2,055under 0.1%
Cattle and calves6,110under 0.1%
Turkeys87under 0.1%

Withheld: hogs and pigs.

Who farms here

Decisions on Orangeburg County's 764 farms are made by 1,298 producers. Their average age is 58.8, 0.1 years below the South Carolina average. Women are 29.0% of them.

Under 359%35–449%45–5419%55–6422%65–7424%75+17%
Orangeburg County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms978−21.9%
Land in farms, acres293,790−21.7%
Average farm size, acres300+0.3%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$214 million+42.0%
Peanuts, acres24,109−62.4%
Cotton, acres33,582+9.5%
Broilers sold, head20,495,100−1.6%
Laying hens, head213,305+93.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Orangeburg County accounts for 6.9% of farm sales in South Carolina and 3.4% of the farms in South Carolina. Rank South Carolina counties for peanuts.

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