Farm Census

Dane County, Wisconsin

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

2,284 farms449,464 acres in farms$653 million in farm sales

No other county in Wisconsin with a published figure has more farms, corn for grain or soybeans, or sells more farm products than Dane County.

Its largest product group with a published figure, milk, makes up 41.4% of farm sales, against 44.0% across Wisconsin.

Milk: 41.4%Milk41.4%Grains and oilseeds: 37.3%Grains and oilseeds37.3%Cattle and calves: 11.6%Cattle and calves11.6%Withheld groups: 2.6%2.6%Nursery and greenhouse: 2.5%2.5%Hay and other crops: 1.7%1.7%Vegetables and melons: 1.0%1.0%Fruit and nuts: 0.8%0.8%Hogs and pigs: 0.4%Christmas trees: 0.3%Other animals: 0.2%Horses and mules: 0.1%Tobacco: 0.1%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Milk: 41.4%Milk41.4%Grains and oilseeds: 37.3%Grains and oilseeds37.3%Cattle and calves: 11.6%11.6%Withheld groups: 2.6%2.6%Nursery and greenhouse: 2.5%2.5%Hay and other crops: 1.7%1.7%Vegetables and melons: 1.0%Fruit and nuts: 0.8%Hogs and pigs: 0.4%Christmas trees: 0.3%Other animals: 0.2%Horses and mules: 0.1%Tobacco: 0.1%Sheep and goats: 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: poultry and eggs and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Milk from cows$270 million7th of 63
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$244 million1st of 67
Cattle and calves$76.0 million4th of 65
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$16.0 million4th of 53
Hay and other crops$11.3 million12th of 67
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$6.5 million13th of 56
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$5.5 million10th of 53
Hogs and pigs$2.4 million8th of 50
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$1.8 million4th of 46
Other animals and animal products$1.0 million9th of 44
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$571,0007th of 47
Tobacco$523,0002nd of 5
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$520,00024th of 57

What the fields held

Dane County harvested 332,557 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 67 counties in Wisconsin. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 45% of that, soybeans 26%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain151,0110.19%
Soybeans86,2250.10%
Hay and haylage53,9480.10%
Corn for silage26,1890.44%
Wheat10,633under 0.1%
Vegetables1,220under 0.1%
of which potatoes17under 0.1%
Orchard land509under 0.1%
of which grapes130under 0.1%
of which apples3030.07%
Oats307under 0.1%
Tobacco1190.06%
Berries107under 0.1%
Barley70under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: canola.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms58.7%

Dane County ranks 21st of 67 counties in Wisconsin on this measure.

  • 365,559 acres of cropland, 81% of farmland
  • 22,467 acres of pastureland, 5% of farmland
  • 40,953 acres of woodland, 9% of farmland
  • 5,662 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Dane County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 51 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 197 acres, 57th-largest of 67 in Wisconsin. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 33.7% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 3.7% of the total.

1–915%10–4934%50–17927%180–49915%500–9995%1,000–1,9992%2,000+1%
Dane County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows47,4130.51%
Cattle and calves125,1940.14%
Horses and ponies2,1880.09%
Sheep and lambs2,6700.05%
Goats993under 0.1%
Beef cows5,534under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs7,194under 0.1%
Turkeys357under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 20227,466under 0.1%

Withheld: laying hens.

Who farms here

Decisions on Dane County's 2,284 farms are made by 4,098 producers. Their average age is 58.6, 1.9 years above the Wisconsin average. Women are 36.5% of them.

Under 359%35–4411%45–5414%55–6427%65–7426%75+13%
Dane County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms2,566−11.0%
Land in farms, acres506,688−11.3%
Average farm size, acres1970.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$509 million+28.3%
Milk cows, head53,945−12.1%
Corn for silage, acres33,069−20.8%
Corn for grain, acres169,030−10.7%
Cattle and calves, head155,725−19.6%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Dane County accounts for 3.9% of farm sales in Wisconsin and 3.9% of the farms in Wisconsin. Rank Wisconsin counties for milk cows.

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