Shelby County, Texas
Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture
799 farms252,770 acres in farms$626 million in farm sales
Among US counties with published figures, Shelby County ranks eighth for broilers sold.
Livestock, poultry and their products make up the ninth-smallest share of farm sales among the 1,923 counties that sold at least $50 million of farm products.
Its average farm size had the seventh-largest increase from 2017 to 2022 among the 1,674 counties with at least 500 farms in 2017.
Sales by product group
| Product group | Sales | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|
| Poultry and eggs | $603 million | 2nd of 168 |
| Cattle and calves | $17.9 million | 113th of 230 |
| Hay and other crops | $2.9 million | 106th of 213 |
| Vegetables, melons and potatoes | $918,000 | 50th of 109 |
| Hogs and pigs | $246,000 | 7th of 103 |
| Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys | $68,000 | 179th of 207 |
| Other animals and animal products | $14,000 | 144th of 161 |
| Fruit, tree nuts and berries | $8,000 | 132nd of 138 |
What the fields held
Shelby County harvested 17,792 acres of cropland in 2022, 157th of 220 counties in Texas. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 97% of that.
| Crop | Acres | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Hay and haylage | 17,179 | under 0.1% |
| Vegetables | 156 | under 0.1% |
| of which potatoes | 13 | under 0.1% |
| Orchard land | 81 | under 0.1% |
Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for grain, cotton, grain sorghum, pecans and berries.
How much of the county is farmland
Share of the county land in farms49.6%
Shelby County ranks 198th of 250 counties in Texas on this measure.
- 35,527 acres of cropland, 14% of farmland
- 181,601 acres of pastureland, 72% of farmland
- 49,647 acres of woodland, 20% of farmland
- 384 acres irrigated
Farm sizes
Farms in Shelby County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 88 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 316 acres, 147th-largest of 242 in Texas. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 40.2% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 2.9% of the total.
Barns, pens and pastures
| Animals | Head | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Broilers sold in 2022 | 90,518,787 | 0.99% |
| Laying hens | 1,166,616 | 0.30% |
| Beef cows | 29,399 | 0.10% |
| Goats | 1,311 | 0.05% |
| Cattle and calves | 43,650 | under 0.1% |
| Horses and ponies | 668 | under 0.1% |
| Hogs and pigs | 579 | under 0.1% |
| Milk cows | 22 | under 0.1% |
Withheld: sheep and lambs.
Who farms here
Decisions on Shelby County's 799 farms are made by 1,435 producers. Their average age is 59.5, 0.4 years below the Texas average. Women are 39.6% of them.
Five years earlier
| Measure | 2017 | Change to 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Farms | 995 | −19.7% |
| Land in farms, acres | 179,084 | +41.1% |
| Average farm size, acres | 180 | +75.6% |
| Farm products sold (current dollars) | $468 million | +33.9% |
| Broilers sold, head | 103,631,416 | −12.7% |
| Laying hens, head | 1,238,783 | −5.8% |
| Goats, head | 1,224 | +7.1% |
| Cattle and calves, head | 43,354 | +0.7% |
Nearest rivals
- Broilers sold between Fresno County, CA and Cullman County, AL
- Laying hens between DeKalb County, AL and Cumberland County, PA
- Beef cows between Ziebach County, SD and Oregon County, MO
- Goats between Falls County, TX and Washburn County, WI
Counties with a similar sales mix
- Barrow County, Georgia largest group: poultry and eggs; mix match 99%
- Jones County, Mississippi largest group: poultry and eggs; mix match 99%
- Neshoba County, Mississippi largest group: poultry and eggs; mix match 99%
Shelby County accounts for 1.9% of farm sales in Texas and 0.3% of the farms in Texas. Rank Texas counties for broilers sold.
Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.