2022 USDA Census NC · FIPS 37179 Top quartile by state sales LIGHT CROP-LED

Union County, North Carolina - Farm Data

Agricultural and commodity intelligence for Union County. Ranked #6 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
212,066 acres of agricultural land
Cropland
72.3% 153,274 acres
Other land
27.7% 58,792 acres
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USDA NASS · 2022 Census of Agriculture

Union County received $4.78 in Census government payments per agricultural acre, 0.4× the North Carolina county median of $12.60.

According to the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.

$4.78
government payments per agricultural acre
$12.60
North Carolina county median per acre
0.38×
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, Union County, North Carolina is a CROP-LED county with federal farm payments per acre that stamp LIGHT; commodity sales sit far above state median and it shows low federal dependence.

Farm operations

882

Avg 240 ac / farm

Commodity sales

$591.6M

6.7× state median -- Far above state median

Federal payments

$1.0M

0.2% of sales -- Low federal dependence

Net farm income

$250.3M

2022 cash income -- Well above-typical net income

A

Farm economy grade: A -- Union County's net farm income sits at the 98th percentile among 3,046 NASS-reporting counties nationally (2022 Census). Percentile-benchmarked, not a same-state comparison like the tier label above.

What the Union County Farm Data Shows

Union County, North Carolina reads as a CROP-LED county with LIGHT federal payment intensity. In the NASS Census vocabulary this portal uses, cropland is 50% to 75% 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 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 Union County

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

LIGHT CROP-LED

Laurens County, GA · LIGHT

$1.0M federal receipts is higher by $1K than Union; land stamp MIXED vs CROP-LED.

Harrison County, IN · LIGHT

$1.0M federal receipts is lower by $3K than Union; land stamp CROP-LED vs CROP-LED.

Mobile County, AL · MID

$1.0M federal receipts is higher by $4K than Union; land stamp MIXED vs CROP-LED.

Wells County, IN · LIGHT

$1.0M federal receipts is higher by $6K than Union; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs CROP-LED.

Caldwell County (LIGHT $/acre pole)

Caldwell sits near Union on payments-per-acre ($4.78) while total receipts differ.

Liberty County (LIGHT $/acre pole)

Liberty sits near Union on payments-per-acre ($4.77) while total receipts differ.

North Carolina ERS state roll-up

Union stamps LIGHT · CROP-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 Union under the LIGHT intensity band.

What to do with this

From Union County, North Carolina, these three pages are the natural next reads:

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 Union County, North Carolina?
Union County, North Carolina has 882 farms (2022 USDA Census). Average farm size 240 acres; land stamp CROP-LED.
What is the total agricultural production value of Union County?
Union County's total commodity sales are $591.6M (2022 Census of Agriculture), ranking #6 among 100 counties in North Carolina.
How much federal farm assistance does Union County receive?
Union County received $1.0M in federal government farm program receipts (2022), stamping LIGHT on NASS payments-per-acre ($4.78/acre) with a CROP-LED land mix.
What is the net farm income in Union County?
Net cash farm income for operations in Union County is $250.3M (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 LIGHT · land stamp CROP-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.