Farm Census

Gonzales County, Texas

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,870 farms630,773 acres in farms$1.00 billion in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Gonzales County ranks second for laying hens and sixth for broilers sold.

Its pecan acreage grew between 2017 and 2022, the largest increase among the 70 leading pecan counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Poultry and eggs: 82.8%Poultry and eggs82.8%Cattle and calves: 13.4%Cattle and calves13.4%Withheld groups: 3.4%Withheld groups3.4%Grains and oilseeds: 0.2%Hay and other crops: 0.2%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Vegetables and melons: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: 82.8%Poultry and eggs82.8%Cattle and calves: 13.4%Cattle and calves13.4%Withheld groups: 3.4%3.4%Grains and oilseeds: 0.2%Hay and other crops: 0.2%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Vegetables and melons: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: fruit and nuts, nursery and greenhouse crops, Christmas trees, milk, hogs and pigs, sheep and goat products and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Poultry and eggs$829 million1st of 168
Cattle and calves$134 million15th of 230
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$2.5 million111th of 173
Hay and other crops$1.5 million134th of 213
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$280,000115th of 207
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$193,00086th of 109

What the fields held

Gonzales County harvested 40,921 acres of cropland in 2022, 97th of 220 counties in Texas. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 68% of that, corn for grain 11%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage27,8100.05%
Corn for grain4,461under 0.1%
Orchard land3,2930.05%
of which grapes62under 0.1%
of which pecans3,2100.53%
Vegetables90under 0.1%
of which potatoes1under 0.1%
Berries8under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: wheat and apples.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms92.4%

Gonzales County ranks 79th of 250 counties in Texas on this measure.

  • 65,113 acres of cropland, 10% of farmland
  • 538,580 acres of pastureland, 85% of farmland
  • 105,729 acres of woodland, 17% of farmland
  • 7,651 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Gonzales County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 106 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 337 acres, 146th-largest of 242 in Texas. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 33.2% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 7.0% of the total.

1–95%10–4924%50–17933%180–49921%500–99910%1,000–1,9994%2,000+3%
Gonzales County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Laying hens9,876,0022.5%
Broilers sold in 202294,447,1121.0%
Cattle and calves143,2540.16%
Goats1,8210.07%
Horses and ponies1,6010.07%
Sheep and lambs1,284under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs404under 0.1%
Turkeys54under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows and milk cows.

Who farms here

Decisions on Gonzales County's 1,870 farms are made by 3,293 producers. Their average age is 61.3, 1.4 years above the Texas average. Women are 37.0% of them.

Under 356%35–448%45–5416%55–6423%65–7428%75+19%
Gonzales County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,612+16.0%
Land in farms, acres614,280+2.7%
Average farm size, acres381−11.5%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$561 million+78.7%
Laying hens, head7,625,972+29.5%
Broilers sold, head74,211,677+27.3%
Pecans, acres1,194+100%
Cattle and calves, head122,115+17.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Gonzales County accounts for 3.1% of farm sales in Texas and 0.8% of the farms in Texas. Rank Texas counties for laying hens.

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