Farm Census

Big Horn County, Wyoming

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

551 farms456,535 acres in farms$91.5 million in farm sales

No other county in Wyoming with a published figure has more corn for silage or barley, or sells more farm products than Big Horn County.

Its land in farms changed more than almost anywhere else between 2017 and 2022: the tenth-largest gain among the 2,081 counties with at least 100,000 acres in farms in 2017.

Cattle and calves: 36.7%Cattle and calves36.7%Grains and oilseeds: 34.1%Grains and oilseeds34.1%Hay and other crops: 23.1%Hay and other crops23.1%Sheep and goats: 2.8%2.8%Horses and mules: 1.8%1.8%Other animals: 0.8%0.8%Withheld groups: 0.5%0.5%Vegetables and melons: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: 0.1%Cattle and calves: 36.7%Cattle and calves36.7%Grains and oilseeds: 34.1%34.1%Hay and other crops: 23.1%Hay and other crops23.1%Sheep and goats: 2.8%2.8%Horses and mules: 1.8%1.8%Other animals: 0.8%Withheld groups: 0.5%Vegetables and melons: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: fruit and nuts, nursery and greenhouse crops, hogs and pigs and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$33.6 million15th of 19
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$31.2 million1st of 11
Hay and other crops$21.1 million3rd of 18
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$2.6 million5th of 19
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$1.7 million1st of 19
Other animals and animal products$718,0005th of 16
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$65,0005th of 9
Poultry and eggs$56,0009th of 23

What the fields held

Big Horn County harvested 77,280 acres of cropland in 2022, eighth of 23 counties in Wyoming. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 42% of that, barley 25%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage32,4320.06%
Barley19,0220.78%
Sugar beets6,9790.60%
Corn for silage6,5990.11%
Corn for grain4,732under 0.1%
Dry edible beans4,1690.34%
Oats1,1980.13%
Wheat697under 0.1%
Soybeans240under 0.1%
Vegetables11under 0.1%
of which potatoes2under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: orchard land, apples and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms22.7%

Big Horn County ranks 17th of 23 counties in Wyoming on this measure.

  • 107,765 acres of cropland, 24% of farmland
  • 330,017 acres of pastureland, 72% of farmland
  • 17,574 acres of woodland, 4% of farmland
  • 84,839 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Big Horn County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 120 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 829 acres, 20th-largest of 23 in Wyoming. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 27.4% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 16.0% of the total.

1–95%10–4926%50–17927%180–49915%500–99911%1,000–1,9999%2,000+7%
Big Horn County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Sheep and lambs12,3960.24%
Goats2,8510.11%
Horses and ponies2,4290.10%
Beef cows26,6460.09%
Cattle and calves45,9560.05%
Laying hens1,550under 0.1%
Milk cows20under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs108under 0.1%
Turkeys65under 0.1%

Withheld: broilers sold.

Who farms here

Decisions on Big Horn County's 551 farms are made by 1,099 producers. Their average age is 55.9, 2.6 years below the Wyoming average. Women are 38.1% of them.

Under 3512%35–4416%45–5414%55–6423%65–7423%75+12%
Big Horn County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms586−6.0%
Land in farms, acres322,241+41.7%
Average farm size, acres550+50.7%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$74.9 million+22.1%
Barley, acres18,476+3.0%
Sugar beets, acres7,983−12.6%
Dry edible beans, acres10,746−61.2%
Sheep and lambs, head18,783−34.0%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Big Horn County accounts for 5.7% of farm sales in Wyoming and 5.2% of the farms in Wyoming. Rank Wyoming counties for barley.

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