Farm Census

Clark County, Wisconsin

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,785 farms409,582 acres in farms$568 million in farm sales

No other county in Wisconsin with a published figure has more corn for silage or milk cows, or sells more farm products than Clark County.

Its largest product group, milk, makes up 66.0% of farm sales, against 44.0% across Wisconsin.

Milk: 66.0%Milk66.0%Grains and oilseeds: 17.3%Grains and oilseeds17.3%Cattle and calves: 10.5%Cattle and calves10.5%Hay and other crops: 3.2%3.2%Poultry and eggs: 1.6%1.6%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.5%0.5%Fruit and nuts: 0.3%Vegetables and melons: 0.2%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Horses and mules: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Milk: 66.0%Milk66.0%Grains and oilseeds: 17.3%Grains and oilseeds17.3%Cattle and calves: 10.5%10.5%Hay and other crops: 3.2%3.2%Poultry and eggs: 1.6%1.6%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.5%Fruit and nuts: 0.3%Vegetables and melons: 0.2%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Horses and mules: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: 0.1%Christmas trees: under 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$375 million1st of 63
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$98.5 million19th of 67
Cattle and calves$59.8 million8th of 65
Hay and other crops$18.3 million1st of 67
Poultry and eggs$9.1 million12th of 51
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$2.9 million19th of 53
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$1.6 million20th of 53
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$906,00038th of 56
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$817,00017th of 57
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$568,0008th of 47
Hogs and pigs$552,00017th of 50
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$251,00014th of 46
Other animals and animal products$193,00024th of 44

What the fields held

Clark County harvested 273,629 acres of cropland in 2022, fifth of 67 counties in Wisconsin. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 34% of that, corn for grain 27%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage93,9530.17%
Corn for grain72,5400.09%
Soybeans58,0070.07%
Corn for silage40,2810.67%
Wheat4,044under 0.1%
Oats2,7730.30%
Vegetables210under 0.1%
of which potatoes11under 0.1%
Barley129under 0.1%
Berries125under 0.1%
Orchard land83under 0.1%
of which apples75under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: canola and grapes.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms52.9%

Clark County ranks 29th of 67 counties in Wisconsin on this measure.

  • 300,614 acres of cropland, 73% of farmland
  • 41,101 acres of pastureland, 10% of farmland
  • 61,212 acres of woodland, 15% of farmland
  • 613 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Clark County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 140 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 229 acres, 42nd-largest of 67 in Wisconsin. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 36.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 3.2% of the total.

1–97%10–4918%50–17937%180–49930%500–9996%1,000–1,9992%2,000+1%
Clark County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows66,6310.72%
Cattle and calves148,7390.17%
Horses and ponies3,0440.13%
Goats1,9040.08%
Laying hens193,933under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs1,582under 0.1%
Beef cows5,739under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs1,717under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 202291,698under 0.1%
Turkeys222under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Clark County's 1,785 farms are made by 3,309 producers. Their average age is 51.8, 4.9 years below the Wisconsin average. Women are 38.1% of them.

Under 3518%35–4417%45–5418%55–6422%65–7419%75+6%
Clark County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms2,095−14.8%
Land in farms, acres451,035−9.2%
Average farm size, acres215+6.5%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$404 million+40.6%
Milk cows, head66,655−under 0.1%
Corn for silage, acres50,900−20.9%
Oats, acres5,802−52.2%
Hay and haylage, acres103,434−9.2%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Clark County accounts for 3.4% of farm sales in Wisconsin and 3.1% of the farms in Wisconsin. Rank Wisconsin counties for milk cows.

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