Farm Census

Whitman County, Washington

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

933 farms1,218,301 acres in farms$465 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Whitman County ranks third for wheat.

Within Washington, no other county with a published figure has more canola.

Its canola acreage grew between 2017 and 2022, the largest increase among the 82 leading canola counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Grains and oilseeds: 92.8%Grains and oilseeds92.8%Cattle and calves: 3.4%3.4%Hay and other crops: 3.2%3.2%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 92.8%Grains and oilseeds92.8%Cattle and calves: 3.4%3.4%Hay and other crops: 3.2%3.2%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, fruit and nuts, nursery and greenhouse crops, milk and poultry and eggs.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$432 million1st of 29
Cattle and calves$15.7 million6th of 33
Hay and other crops$14.8 million9th of 35
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$1.0 million2nd of 33
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$116,00025th of 35
Hogs and pigs$17,00024th of 29
Other animals and animal products$15,00024th of 28
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$3,00023rd of 23

What the fields held

Whitman County harvested 685,349 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 33 counties in Washington. Wheat covered acreage equal to 73% of that, canola 7%.

CropAcresShare of US
Wheat498,4731.3%
Canola46,2682.1%
Barley25,5931.1%
Hay and haylage21,957under 0.1%
Dry edible beans2,8280.23%
Corn for grain165under 0.1%
Orchard land69under 0.1%
of which grapes9under 0.1%
of which apples43under 0.1%
Oats20under 0.1%
Berries2under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for silage, sunflower, potatoes, vegetables and almonds.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms88.2%

Whitman County ranks first of 39 counties in Washington on this measure.

  • 943,430 acres of cropland, 77% of farmland
  • 242,169 acres of pastureland, 20% of farmland
  • 19,921 acres of woodland, 2% of farmland
  • 4,583 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Whitman County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 280 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 1,306 acres, fifth-largest of 39 in Washington. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 20.0% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 31.0% of the total.

1–99%10–4917%50–17916%180–49915%500–99911%1,000–1,99911%2,000+20%
Whitman County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Sheep and lambs4,4810.09%
Horses and ponies746under 0.1%
Cattle and calves19,509under 0.1%
Goats400under 0.1%
Laying hens1,229under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs54under 0.1%
Turkeys32under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows, milk cows and broilers sold.

Who farms here

Decisions on Whitman County's 933 farms are made by 1,790 producers. Their average age is 60.3, 1.0 years above the Washington average. Women are 36.0% of them.

Under 357%35–4411%45–5411%55–6425%65–7431%75+14%
Whitman County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,039−10.2%
Land in farms, acres1,287,978−5.4%
Average farm size, acres1,240+5.3%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$279 million+66.9%
Canola, acres7,099+100%
Wheat, acres524,203−4.9%
Barley, acres41,643−38.5%
Dry edible beans, acres960+100%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Whitman County accounts for 3.6% of farm sales in Washington and 2.9% of the farms in Washington. Rank Washington counties for canola.

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