Farm Census

Vernon County, Wisconsin

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,810 farms354,885 acres in farms$296 million in farm sales

Vernon County's largest product group with a published figure, milk, makes up 45.7% of farm sales, against 44.0% across Wisconsin.

Its farms account for 1.8% of all farm sales in Wisconsin, the 26th-largest share among the state's 67 counties.

Milk: 45.7%Milk45.7%Grains and oilseeds: 27.2%Grains and oilseeds27.2%Cattle and calves: 13.7%Cattle and calves13.7%Poultry and eggs: 4.9%4.9%Hay and other crops: 4.0%4.0%Vegetables and melons: 1.3%1.3%Fruit and nuts: 0.9%0.9%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.7%0.7%Withheld groups: 0.6%0.6%Sheep and goats: 0.4%Horses and mules: 0.3%Hogs and pigs: 0.3%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Milk: 45.7%Milk45.7%Grains and oilseeds: 27.2%Grains and oilseeds27.2%Cattle and calves: 13.7%Cattle and calves13.7%Poultry and eggs: 4.9%4.9%Hay and other crops: 4.0%4.0%Vegetables and melons: 1.3%Fruit and nuts: 0.9%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.7%Withheld groups: 0.6%Sheep and goats: 0.4%Horses and mules: 0.3%Hogs and pigs: 0.3%Christmas trees: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: aquaculture products and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Milk from cows$135 million19th of 63
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$80.5 million23rd of 67
Cattle and calves$40.6 million14th of 65
Poultry and eggs$14.4 million9th of 51
Hay and other crops$11.9 million8th of 67
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$3.9 million23rd of 56
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$2.5 million14th of 53
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$2.0 million26th of 53
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$1.1 million11th of 57
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$852,0003rd of 47
Hogs and pigs$794,00014th of 50
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$70,00028th of 46

What the fields held

Vernon County harvested 172,794 acres of cropland in 2022, 21st of 67 counties in Wisconsin. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 34% of that, corn for grain 33%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage59,3620.11%
Corn for grain57,5810.07%
Soybeans37,578under 0.1%
Corn for silage13,5110.23%
Wheat1,948under 0.1%
Oats1,2330.13%
Vegetables527under 0.1%
of which potatoes33under 0.1%
Orchard land343under 0.1%
of which grapes145under 0.1%
of which apples145under 0.1%
Berries74under 0.1%
Barley33under 0.1%

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms70.1%

Vernon County ranks ninth of 67 counties in Wisconsin on this measure.

  • 196,220 acres of cropland, 55% of farmland
  • 81,347 acres of pastureland, 23% of farmland
  • 94,479 acres of woodland, 27% of farmland
  • 462 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Vernon County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 91 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 196 acres, 58th-largest of 67 in Wisconsin. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 39.9% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 3.4% of the total.

1–98%10–4924%50–17940%180–49920%500–9995%1,000–1,9993%2,000+1%
Vernon County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows24,6070.26%
Horses and ponies3,2520.13%
Cattle and calves76,4850.09%
Sheep and lambs4,2040.08%
Goats2,0750.08%
Laying hens234,4710.06%
Beef cows10,371under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022413,068under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs1,939under 0.1%
Turkeys22under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Vernon County's 1,810 farms are made by 3,470 producers. Their average age is 53.7, 3.0 years below the Wisconsin average. Women are 37.0% of them.

Under 3516%35–4417%45–5412%55–6424%65–7422%75+9%
Vernon County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,961−7.7%
Land in farms, acres337,086+5.3%
Average farm size, acres172+14.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$182 million+62.8%
Milk cows, head19,932+23.5%
Corn for silage, acres14,273−5.3%
Oats, acres1,766−30.2%
Horses and ponies, head3,461−6.0%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Vernon County accounts for 3.1% of the farms in Wisconsin. Rank Wisconsin counties for milk cows.

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