Farm Census

Caledonia County, Vermont

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

487 farms85,015 acres in farms$53.2 million in farm sales

Caledonia County's largest product group, milk, makes up 51.3% of farm sales, against 57.9% across Vermont.

Its farms account for 5.1% of all farm sales in Vermont, the sixth-largest share among the state's 14 counties.

Milk: 51.3%Milk51.3%Hay and other crops: 16.1%Hay and other crops16.1%Cattle and calves: 13.9%Cattle and calves13.9%Poultry and eggs: 6.4%Poultry and eggs6.4%Vegetables and melons: 3.8%3.8%Fruit and nuts: 2.1%2.1%Sheep and goats: 1.8%1.8%Nursery and greenhouse: 1.4%1.4%Grains and oilseeds: 1.3%1.3%Hogs and pigs: 0.8%0.8%Aquaculture: 0.7%0.7%Christmas trees: 0.3%Horses and mules: 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Milk: 51.3%Milk51.3%Hay and other crops: 16.1%16.1%Cattle and calves: 13.9%13.9%Poultry and eggs: 6.4%6.4%Vegetables and melons: 3.8%3.8%Fruit and nuts: 2.1%2.1%Sheep and goats: 1.8%Nursery and greenhouse: 1.4%1.4%Grains and oilseeds: 1.3%1.3%Hogs and pigs: 0.8%0.8%Aquaculture: 0.7%Christmas trees: 0.3%Horses and mules: 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Milk from cows$27.3 million5th of 14
Hay and other crops$8.6 million11th of 14
Cattle and calves$7.4 million4th of 14
Poultry and eggs$3.4 million2nd of 10
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$2.0 million9th of 14
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$1.1 million7th of 14
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$955,0002nd of 14
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$766,0009th of 11
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$667,0007th of 10
Hogs and pigs$442,0001st of 9
Aquaculture$350,0002nd of 2
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$168,0007th of 13
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$52,0008th of 9
Other animals and animal products$24,0008th of 9

What the fields held

Caledonia County harvested 25,326 acres of cropland in 2022, sixth of 14 counties in Vermont. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 81% of that, corn for silage 16%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage20,422under 0.1%
Corn for silage3,9370.07%
Barley210under 0.1%
Vegetables130under 0.1%
of which potatoes7under 0.1%
Orchard land100under 0.1%
of which grapes15under 0.1%
of which apples82under 0.1%
Berries52under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for grain and wheat.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms20.5%

Caledonia County ranks sixth of 14 counties in Vermont on this measure.

  • 29,326 acres of cropland, 34% of farmland
  • 8,678 acres of pastureland, 10% of farmland
  • 44,629 acres of woodland, 52% of farmland
  • 185 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Caledonia County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 85 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 175 acres, sixth-largest of 13 in Vermont. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 30.8% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 1.0% of the total.

1–98%10–4929%50–17931%180–49923%500–9997%1,000–1,9991%2,000+0%
Caledonia County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Goats1,7730.07%
Milk cows4,8410.05%
Sheep and lambs1,528under 0.1%
Horses and ponies437under 0.1%
Laying hens63,179under 0.1%
Cattle and calves12,575under 0.1%
Beef cows1,012under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs1,158under 0.1%
Turkeys81under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 20221,655under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Caledonia County's 487 farms are made by 911 producers. Their average age is 58.0, 0.3 years above the Vermont average. Women are 41.7% of them.

Under 3511%35–4411%45–5414%55–6425%65–7424%75+15%
Caledonia County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms585−16.8%
Land in farms, acres86,999−2.3%
Average farm size, acres149+17.4%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$42.2 million+26.1%
Goats, head544+100%
Corn for silage, acres3,531+11.5%
Milk cows, head7,692−37.1%
Hay and haylage, acres23,551−13.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Caledonia County accounts for 7.4% of the farms in Vermont. Rank Vermont counties for goats.

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