Farm Census

Deaf Smith County, Texas

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

663 farms957,798 acres in farms$1.89 billion in farm sales

Deaf Smith County ranks eighth of 2,953 US counties for sales of livestock, poultry and their products in 2022.

Among counties with published figures, it also ranks second for cattle and calves.

Its wheat acreage shrank between 2017 and 2022, the steepest decline among the 100 leading wheat counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Cattle and calves: 79.1%Cattle and calves79.1%Milk: 15.4%Milk15.4%Grains and oilseeds: 4.3%4.3%Hay and other crops: 0.9%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Cattle and calves: 79.1%Cattle and calves79.1%Milk: 15.4%Milk15.4%Grains and oilseeds: 4.3%4.3%Hay and other crops: 0.9%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, cotton, hogs and pigs and poultry and eggs.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$1.50 billion1st of 230
Milk from cows$291 million5th of 26
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$80.7 million8th of 173
Hay and other crops$16.3 million11th of 213
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$462,00086th of 207
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$410,00075th of 201
Other animals and animal products$150,00098th of 161

What the fields held

CropAcresShare of US
Wheat46,4470.12%
Hay and haylage43,7580.08%
Corn for silage31,3060.52%
Grain sorghum28,0200.60%
Corn for grain18,504under 0.1%
Cotton9,5670.12%
Sunflower9000.06%

Withheld to protect individual farms: soybeans, oats and dry edible beans.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms100%

Deaf Smith County ranks tenth of 250 counties in Texas on this measure.

  • 540,253 acres of cropland, 56% of farmland
  • 459,206 acres of pastureland, 48% of farmland
  • 115,252 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Deaf Smith County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 500 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 1,445 acres, 58th-largest of 242 in Texas. The most common size class is 180–499 acres, with 23.8% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 30.3% of the total.

1–96%10–497%50–17912%180–49924%500–99922%1,000–1,99914%2,000+17%
Deaf Smith County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Cattle and calves700,0690.80%
Milk cows52,1350.56%
Beef cows30,5950.10%
Sheep and lambs915under 0.1%
Horses and ponies410under 0.1%
Goats377under 0.1%
Laying hens438under 0.1%

Withheld: hogs and pigs and turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Deaf Smith County's 663 farms are made by 1,238 producers. Their average age is 59.3, 0.6 years below the Texas average. Women are 34.5% of them.

Under 359%35–4412%45–5414%55–6426%65–7422%75+18%
Deaf Smith County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms562+18.0%
Land in farms, acres967,487−1.0%
Average farm size, acres1,722−16.1%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$1.64 billion+15.6%
Cattle and calves, head592,087+18.2%
Grain sorghum, acres41,104−31.8%
Milk cows, head40,528+28.6%
Corn for silage, acres17,723+76.6%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Deaf Smith County accounts for 5.9% of farm sales in Texas and 0.3% of the farms in Texas. Rank Texas counties for cattle and calves.

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