2022 USDA Census NC · FIPS 37115 Bottom quartile by state sales TRACE PASTURE-LED

Madison County, North Carolina - Farm Data

Agricultural and commodity intelligence for Madison County. Ranked #92 of 100 counties in North Carolina.

View all North Carolina counties → Browse all counties
Agricultural land composition · 2022 USDA Census · data refreshed 2026-05-15
42,763 acres of agricultural land
Cropland
18.4% 7,879 acres
Other land
81.6% 34,884 acres
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USDA NASS · 2022 Census of Agriculture

Madison County received $2.71 in Census government payments per agricultural acre, 0.2× the North Carolina county median of $12.60.

According to the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.

$2.71
government payments per agricultural acre
$12.60
North Carolina county median per acre
0.22×
North Carolina 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, Madison County, North Carolina is a PASTURE-LED county with federal farm payments per acre that stamp TRACE; commodity sales sit well below state median and it shows above-typical federal dependence.

Farm operations

535

Avg 80 ac / farm

Commodity sales

$5.1M

0.057× state median -- Well below state median

Federal payments

$116K

2.3% of sales -- Above-typical dependence

Net farm income

$-3.6M

2022 cash income -- Net loss

F

Farm economy grade: F -- Madison County's net farm income sits at the 4th percentile among 3,046 NASS-reporting counties nationally (2022 Census). Percentile-benchmarked, not a same-state comparison like the tier label above.

What the Madison County Farm Data Shows

Madison County, North Carolina reads as a PASTURE-LED county with TRACE federal payment intensity. In the NASS Census vocabulary this portal uses, cropland is under 25% of agricultural land, a mix where livestock forage and disaster titles (LFP/ELAP) usually outweigh row-crop commodity programs; payments per agricultural acre fall in the lowest national quintile, under $3.41 an acre, so program receipts are a marginal line beside market revenue.

The state comparisons on this page use the 98 of 100 North Carolina 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 95 counties that report both receipts and acreage, and net-income peers are the 92 that reported a profit.

Pair the payment peers below before treating any single county as representative of North Carolina.

Read with Madison County

Nearest NASS federal-payment peers and $/acre poles for Madison (TRACE · PASTURE-LED), replacing the old fixed Related and same-state alphabetical strip.

TRACE PASTURE-LED

Carter County, KY · TRACE

$116K federal receipts is higher by - than Madison; land stamp MIXED vs PASTURE-LED.

Westmoreland County, VA · TRACE

$116K federal receipts is higher by - than Madison; land stamp CROP-LED vs PASTURE-LED.

Carroll County, GA · TRACE

$117K federal receipts is higher by $1K than Madison; land stamp MIXED vs PASTURE-LED.

Spencer County, KY · TRACE

$117K federal receipts is higher by $1K than Madison; land stamp MIXED vs PASTURE-LED.

Jackson County (TRACE $/acre pole)

Jackson sits near Madison on payments-per-acre ($2.72) while total receipts differ.

Jackson County (TRACE $/acre pole)

Jackson sits near Madison on payments-per-acre ($2.75) while total receipts differ.

North Carolina ERS state roll-up

Madison stamps TRACE · PASTURE-LED inside North Carolina'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 Madison under the TRACE intensity band.

What to do with this

Where to go after Madison County, North Carolina:

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 Madison County, North Carolina?
Madison County, North Carolina has 535 farms (2022 USDA Census). Average farm size 80 acres; land stamp PASTURE-LED.
What is the total agricultural production value of Madison County?
Madison County's total commodity sales are $5.1M (2022 Census of Agriculture), ranking #92 among 100 counties in North Carolina.
How much federal farm assistance does Madison County receive?
Madison County received $116K in federal government farm program receipts (2022), stamping TRACE on NASS payments-per-acre ($2.71/acre) with a PASTURE-LED land mix.
What is the net farm income in Madison County?
Net cash farm income for operations in Madison County is $-3.6M (2022 Census of Agriculture).

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 TRACE · land stamp PASTURE-LED (NASS payments-per-acre / cropland share bands).

NASS withholds commodity sales for 2 North Carolina 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.