Farm Census

Franklin County, Vermont

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

707 farms182,060 acres in farms$247 million in farm sales

No other county in Vermont with a published figure has more land in farms, or sells more farm products than Franklin County.

Its largest product group with a published figure, milk, makes up 65.3% of farm sales, against 57.9% across Vermont.

Milk: 65.3%Milk65.3%Hay and other crops: 21.3%Hay and other crops21.3%Cattle and calves: 6.1%Cattle and calves6.1%Grains and oilseeds: 3.9%3.9%Vegetables and melons: 0.9%0.9%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.7%0.7%Poultry and eggs: 0.6%Sheep and goats: 0.3%Fruit and nuts: 0.2%Other animals: 0.2%Christmas trees: 0.1%Milk: 65.3%Milk65.3%Hay and other crops: 21.3%Hay and other crops21.3%Cattle and calves: 6.1%6.1%Grains and oilseeds: 3.9%3.9%Vegetables and melons: 0.9%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.7%Poultry and eggs: 0.6%Sheep and goats: 0.3%Fruit and nuts: 0.2%Other animals: 0.2%Christmas trees: 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: hogs and pigs and horses and mules.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Milk from cows$161 million2nd of 14
Hay and other crops$52.7 million1st of 14
Cattle and calves$15.1 million1st of 14
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$9.8 million1st of 10
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$2.2 million8th of 14
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$1.8 million4th of 11
Poultry and eggs$1.4 million3rd of 10
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$714,0005th of 14
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$492,00013th of 14
Other animals and animal products$415,0004th of 9
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$305,0005th of 13

What the fields held

Franklin County harvested 70,991 acres of cropland in 2022, second of 14 counties in Vermont. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 61% of that, corn for silage 27%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage43,6580.08%
Corn for silage19,3610.32%
Corn for grain5,904under 0.1%
Soybeans1,109under 0.1%
Vegetables351under 0.1%
of which potatoes20under 0.1%
Oats82under 0.1%
Orchard land58under 0.1%
of which grapes18under 0.1%
of which apples38under 0.1%
Berries44under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: wheat.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms44.9%

Franklin County ranks first of 14 counties in Vermont on this measure.

  • 77,854 acres of cropland, 43% of farmland
  • 18,854 acres of pastureland, 10% of farmland
  • 79,065 acres of woodland, 43% of farmland
  • 241 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Franklin County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 100 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 258 acres, first-largest of 13 in Vermont. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 29.4% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 4.8% of the total.

1–98%10–4925%50–17929%180–49925%500–9997%1,000–1,9993%2,000+2%
Franklin County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows27,3540.29%
Goats1,7320.07%
Cattle and calves47,4010.05%
Horses and ponies245under 0.1%
Beef cows2,605under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs328under 0.1%
Laying hens22,894under 0.1%
Turkeys192under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 20222,726under 0.1%

Withheld: hogs and pigs.

Who farms here

Decisions on Franklin County's 707 farms are made by 1,374 producers. Their average age is 56.8, 0.9 years below the Vermont average. Women are 36.0% of them.

Under 3510%35–4414%45–5417%55–6424%65–7424%75+11%
Franklin County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms729−3.0%
Land in farms, acres189,699−4.0%
Average farm size, acres260−0.8%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$186 million+33.3%
Corn for silage, acres21,053−8.0%
Milk cows, head33,834−19.2%
Hay and haylage, acres49,414−11.6%
Goats, head1,424+21.6%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Franklin County accounts for 24.0% of farm sales in Vermont and 10.8% of the farms in Vermont. Rank Vermont counties for corn for silage.

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