Farm Census

Addison County, Vermont

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

751 farms177,719 acres in farms$263 million in farm sales

No other county in Vermont with a published figure has more farms, corn for silage, hay and haylage or milk cows, or sells more farm products than Addison County.

Its largest product group with a published figure, milk, makes up 69.4% of farm sales, against 57.9% across Vermont.

Milk: 69.4%Milk69.4%Hay and other crops: 11.9%Hay and other crops11.9%Cattle and calves: 5.4%Cattle and calves5.4%Poultry and eggs: 5.2%Poultry and eggs5.2%Vegetables and melons: 1.8%1.8%Fruit and nuts: 1.7%1.7%Grains and oilseeds: 1.5%1.5%Nursery and greenhouse: 1.3%1.3%Withheld groups: 0.9%0.9%Sheep and goats: 0.4%Horses and mules: 0.2%Hogs and pigs: 0.2%Christmas trees: 0.1%Milk: 69.4%Milk69.4%Hay and other crops: 11.9%11.9%Cattle and calves: 5.4%5.4%Poultry and eggs: 5.2%5.2%Vegetables and melons: 1.8%1.8%Fruit and nuts: 1.7%1.7%Grains and oilseeds: 1.5%1.5%Nursery and greenhouse: 1.3%1.3%Withheld groups: 0.9%Sheep and goats: 0.4%Horses and mules: 0.2%Hogs and pigs: 0.2%Christmas trees: 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: aquaculture products and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Milk from cows$182 million1st of 14
Hay and other crops$31.4 million2nd of 14
Cattle and calves$14.1 million2nd of 14
Poultry and eggs$13.6 million1st of 10
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$4.8 million3rd of 14
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$4.6 million2nd of 14
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$4.0 million2nd of 10
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$3.5 million2nd of 11
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$1.2 million1st of 14
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$521,0001st of 9
Hogs and pigs$395,0002nd of 9
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$139,0009th of 13

What the fields held

Addison County harvested 100,071 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 14 counties in Vermont. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 70% of that, corn for silage 23%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage70,1140.13%
Corn for silage22,7950.38%
Soybeans3,660under 0.1%
Corn for grain1,963under 0.1%
Wheat598under 0.1%
Orchard land493under 0.1%
of which grapes38under 0.1%
of which apples4440.11%
Vegetables232under 0.1%
of which potatoes13under 0.1%
Berries22under 0.1%

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms36.2%

Addison County ranks second of 14 counties in Vermont on this measure.

  • 109,133 acres of cropland, 61% of farmland
  • 18,460 acres of pastureland, 10% of farmland
  • 44,750 acres of woodland, 25% of farmland
  • 948 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Addison County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 75 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 237 acres, second-largest of 13 in Vermont. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 32.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 5.5% of the total.

1–911%10–4932%50–17931%180–49915%500–9996%1,000–1,9993%2,000+2%
Addison County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows31,3630.34%
Sheep and lambs4,2960.08%
Cattle and calves62,8200.07%
Goats1,3730.05%
Horses and ponies1,2670.05%
Laying hens37,489under 0.1%
Beef cows1,891under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs1,074under 0.1%

Withheld: broilers sold and turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Addison County's 751 farms are made by 1,429 producers. Their average age is 57.4, 0.3 years below the Vermont average. Women are 38.5% of them.

Under 3512%35–4412%45–5414%55–6424%65–7426%75+12%
Addison County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms720+4.3%
Land in farms, acres169,874+4.6%
Average farm size, acres236+0.4%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$173 million+51.6%
Corn for silage, acres19,352+17.8%
Milk cows, head30,381+3.2%
Hay and haylage, acres69,590+0.8%
Apples, acres864−48.6%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Addison County accounts for 25.4% of farm sales in Vermont and 11.5% of the farms in Vermont. Rank Vermont counties for corn for silage.

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