Farm operations
274
Avg 88 ac / farm
2022 USDA Census NC · FIPS 37149 Bottom quartile by state sales MID MIXED
Polk County, North Carolina - Farm Data
Agricultural and commodity intelligence for Polk County. Ranked #89 of 100 counties in North Carolina.
24,076 acres of agricultural land
- Cropland
- 25.6% 6,154 acres
- Other land
- 74.4% 17,922 acres
USDA NASS · 2022 Census of Agriculture
Polk County received $9.39 in Census government payments per agricultural acre, 0.7× the North Carolina county median of $12.60.
According to the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.
- $9.39
- government payments per agricultural acre
- $12.60
- North Carolina county median per acre
- 0.75×
- 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, Polk County, North Carolina is a MIXED county with federal farm payments per acre that stamp MID; commodity sales sit well below state median and it shows above-typical federal dependence.
Commodity sales
$6.8M
0.076× state median -- Well below state median
Federal payments
$226K
3.3% of sales -- Above-typical dependence
Net farm income
$-2.2M
2022 cash income -- Net loss
F
Farm economy grade: F -- Polk County's net farm income sits at the 6th percentile among 3,046 NASS-reporting counties nationally (2022 Census). Percentile-benchmarked, not a same-state comparison like the tier label above.
What the Polk County Farm Data Shows
Polk County, North Carolina reads as a MIXED county with MID federal payment intensity. In the NASS Census vocabulary this portal uses, cropland is 25% to 50% of agricultural land with the balance in pasture, range, woodland or farmsteads, so row-crop and livestock-side programs are both in play; payments per agricultural acre fall in the middle national quintile, $6.98 to $11.30 an acre, a mid-range level of federal support for the land base.
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 Polk County
Nearest NASS federal-payment peers and $/acre poles for Polk (MID · MIXED), replacing the old fixed Related and same-state alphabetical strip.
MID MIXED
Waldo County, ME · LIGHT
$226K federal receipts is higher by - than Polk; land stamp MIXED vs MIXED.
Howard County, MD · LIGHT
$226K federal receipts is higher by - than Polk; land stamp CROP-LED vs MIXED.
Wayne County, MS · TRACE
$227K federal receipts is higher by $1K than Polk; land stamp PASTURE-LED vs MIXED.
Scioto County, OH · TRACE
$227K federal receipts is higher by $1K than Polk; land stamp MIXED vs MIXED.
Prince George County (MID $/acre pole)
Prince George sits near Polk on payments-per-acre ($9.29) while total receipts differ.
Livingston County (MID $/acre pole)
Livingston sits near Polk on payments-per-acre ($9.23) while total receipts differ.
North Carolina ERS state roll-up
Polk stamps MID · MIXED 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 Polk under the MID intensity band.
What to do with this
Three places to go next from Polk County, North Carolina:
- See how North Carolina compares nationally on ERS farm payments and income. North Carolina 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 Polk County, North Carolina?
Polk County, North Carolina has 274 farms (2022 USDA Census). Average farm size 88 acres; land stamp MIXED.
What is the total agricultural production value of Polk County?
Polk County's total commodity sales are $6.8M (2022 Census of Agriculture), ranking #89 among 100 counties in North Carolina.
How much federal farm assistance does Polk County receive?
Polk County received $226K in federal government farm program receipts (2022), stamping MID on NASS payments-per-acre ($9.39/acre) with a MIXED land mix.
What is the net farm income in Polk County?
Net cash farm income for operations in Polk County is $-2.2M (2022 Census of Agriculture).
State Overview
North Carolina
100 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 MID · land stamp MIXED (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.