Farm operations
763
Avg 313 ac / farm
2022 USDA Census MI · FIPS 26149 Top quartile by state sales LIGHT CROP-HEAVY
ST Joseph County, Michigan - Farm Data
Agricultural and commodity intelligence for ST Joseph County. Ranked #11 of 83 counties in Michigan.
238,547 acres of agricultural land
- Cropland
- 88.4% 210,902 acres
- Other land
- 11.6% 27,645 acres
USDA NASS · 2022 Census of Agriculture
ST Joseph County received $3.61 in Census government payments per agricultural acre, 0.3× the Michigan county median of $10.62.
According to the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.
- $3.61
- government payments per agricultural acre
- $10.62
- Michigan county median per acre
- 0.34×
- Michigan median per acre
Payments per acre use the same NASS county table for receipts and acreage. Census county totals are not a roll-up of the USDA ERS state payment series.
According to the 2022 USDA NASS Census of Agriculture, ST Joseph County, Michigan is a CROP-HEAVY county with federal farm payments per acre that stamp LIGHT; commodity sales sit above state median and it shows low federal dependence.
Commodity sales
$340.2M
4.2× state median -- Above state median
Federal payments
$862K
0.3% of sales -- Low federal dependence
Net farm income
$88.4M
2022 cash income -- Well above-typical net income
B
Farm economy grade: B -- ST Joseph County's net farm income sits at the 82th percentile among 3,046 NASS-reporting counties nationally (2022 Census). Percentile-benchmarked, not a same-state comparison like the tier label above.
What the ST Joseph County Farm Data Shows
ST Joseph County, Michigan reads as a CROP-HEAVY county with LIGHT federal payment intensity. In the NASS Census vocabulary this portal uses, cropland is 75% or more of agricultural land, a profile where ARC/PLC eligibility and crop insurance density matter more than pasture-side disaster titles; payments per agricultural acre fall in the second-lowest national quintile, $3.41 to $6.98 an acre, which is light federal support for the land base.
The state comparisons on this page use the 81 of 83 Michigan counties with published commodity sales (2 withheld by NASS to protect respondents are left out, not counted as zero), averaging the two central values when the count is even. Payments per acre use the 80 counties that report both receipts and acreage, and net-income peers are the 74 that reported a profit.
Pair the payment peers below before treating any single county as representative of Michigan.
Read with ST Joseph County
Nearest NASS federal-payment peers and $/acre poles for ST Joseph (LIGHT · CROP-HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Related and same-state alphabetical strip.
LIGHT CROP-HEAVY
Pine County, MN · LIGHT
$863K federal receipts is higher by $1K than ST Joseph; land stamp CROP-LED vs CROP-HEAVY.
Caroline County, MD · MID
$859K federal receipts is lower by $3K than ST Joseph; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs CROP-HEAVY.
Daviess County, IN · LIGHT
$866K federal receipts is higher by $4K than ST Joseph; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs CROP-HEAVY.
Somerset County, MD · HEAVY
$856K federal receipts is lower by $6K than ST Joseph; land stamp CROP-LED vs CROP-HEAVY.
Limestone County (LIGHT $/acre pole)
Limestone sits near ST Joseph on payments-per-acre ($3.62) while total receipts differ.
Adams County (LIGHT $/acre pole)
Adams sits near ST Joseph on payments-per-acre ($3.64) while total receipts differ.
Michigan ERS state roll-up
ST Joseph stamps LIGHT · CROP-HEAVY inside Michigan's NASS county table, open the state ERS payment stack next.
Census payments leaderboard
Open the national ranking of U.S. counties by NASS federal farm program payments to see the counties around ST Joseph under the LIGHT intensity band.
What to do with this
Three ways to keep going from ST Joseph County, Michigan:
- See how Michigan compares nationally on ERS farm payments and income. Michigan state page
- Browse the full county table to compare payment intensity across the country. All counties
- Understand what actually drives county-level farm payments. Read the guide
County figures (2022 NASS Census of Agriculture) are a separate population from USDA ERS state and national payment series and must not be summed together.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many farms are in ST Joseph County, Michigan?
ST Joseph County, Michigan has 763 farms (2022 USDA Census). Average farm size 313 acres; land stamp CROP-HEAVY.
What is the total agricultural production value of ST Joseph County?
ST Joseph County's total commodity sales are $340.2M (2022 Census of Agriculture), ranking #11 among 83 counties in Michigan.
How much federal farm assistance does ST Joseph County receive?
ST Joseph County received $862K in federal government farm program receipts (2022), stamping LIGHT on NASS payments-per-acre ($3.61/acre) with a CROP-HEAVY land mix.
What is the net farm income in ST Joseph County?
Net cash farm income for operations in ST Joseph County is $88.4M (2022 Census of Agriculture).
State Overview
Michigan
83 counties · View state farm data
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service 2022 Census of Agriculture · 2022
Dollar values reflect calendar year 2022 farm operations data.
PlainFarmData is an independent data portal, not affiliated with USDA, FSA, or any government agency. For official program eligibility or application guidance, contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency office.
Intensity stamp LIGHT · land stamp CROP-HEAVY (NASS payments-per-acre / cropland share bands).
NASS withholds commodity sales for 2 Michigan counties with too few farm operations to publish without identifying individual producers. Those counties are excluded from the peer median on this page rather than counted as zero sales.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified. Verify with USDA NASS Census of Agriculture →
County farm figures on this page are rendered from the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture, no number is typed in by an editor. Census county totals are not a roll-up of the USDA ERS state payment series. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.