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1 / 25#25. Arapahoe
- Farmland: 339,977 acres (1.4% of state total)
- Farms: 566
- Most common crop: Native grass (184,153 acres, 54.2% of county farmland)
Counties with the most farmland in Colorado
Farmland across the U.S. is disappearing by the millions of acres each decade by some estimates as sprawling urban development driven by rising housing costs pushes further into rural pastures.
The farmland that still exists in the U.S. is heavily dedicated to growing plants that Americans can't consume—grass. That grass, accounting for more than 300 million acres now, feeds our livestock, provides sod for new development, and serves as a cover crop to protect soil health between harvests.
Demand for major crops like corn and soybeans to feed Americans is only forecast by the USDA to grow in the coming decade, and demand for U.S. agricultural exports is expected to grow similarly.
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the way people purchased and consumed food, placing renewed attention on an increasingly consolidated agricultural industry where family farms have been swallowed up by large food corporations.
And after shifting behaviors caused massive economic swings in the U.S. and elsewhere, the Russian invasion of Ukraine forced food producers to once again account for yet another shock with so much of the world's grain capital taken offline by warfare.
War and corporate interests aside, farms have also had to reckon with a changing climate. Wheat fields were once commonplace across the country, but drought conditions of late have caused farmers to give up growing the crop entirely. Agitated by climate change, the shortage of water in parts of the country coupled with higher interest rates and the ongoing war in Ukraine are making agricultural businesses harder to run profitably.
To illustrate where American farms still persevere, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the most farmland in Colorado using data from the Agriculture Department's Farm Service Agency. Farmers reported the data as mandated by participation in USDA income support programs, including Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage as well as loan assistance. Counties are ranked by total acres of farmland.
In Colorado, there are 23,822,121 acres of farmland, with native grass being the most common crop.
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2 / 25#24. El Paso
- Farmland: 349,057 acres (1.5% of state total)
- Farms: 272
- Most common crop: Native grass (337,093 acres, 96.6% of county farmland)
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3 / 25#23. Sedgwick
- Farmland: 376,533 acres (1.6% of state total)
- Farms: 659
- Most common crop: Native grass (125,996 acres, 33.5% of county farmland)
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4 / 25#22. Adams
- Farmland: 387,769 acres (1.6% of state total)
- Farms: 932
- Most common crop: Fallow (116,428 acres, 30.0% of county farmland)
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5 / 25#21. Rio Blanco
- Farmland: 410,180 acres (1.7% of state total)
- Farms: 259
- Most common crop: Native grass (389,009 acres, 94.8% of county farmland)
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6 / 25#20. Crowley
- Farmland: 436,205 acres (1.8% of state total)
- Farms: 291
- Most common crop: Native grass (369,404 acres, 84.7% of county farmland)
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7 / 25#19. Phillips
- Farmland: 469,585 acres (2.0% of state total)
- Farms: 921
- Most common crop: Hard red winter wheat (74,002 acres, 15.8% of county farmland)
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8 / 25#18. Routt
- Farmland: 493,708 acres (2.1% of state total)
- Farms: 602
- Most common crop: Native grass (443,167 acres, 89.8% of county farmland)
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9 / 25#17. Bent
- Farmland: 501,070 acres (2.1% of state total)
- Farms: 411
- Most common crop: Native grass (437,568 acres, 87.3% of county farmland)
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10 / 25#16. Pueblo
- Farmland: 545,821 acres (2.3% of state total)
- Farms: 574
- Most common crop: Native grass (474,370 acres, 86.9% of county farmland)
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Cavan-Images // Shutterstock
11 / 25#15. Elbert
- Farmland: 556,807 acres (2.3% of state total)
- Farms: 623
- Most common crop: Native grass (452,083 acres, 81.2% of county farmland)
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12 / 25#14. Morgan
- Farmland: 606,825 acres (2.5% of state total)
- Farms: 890
- Most common crop: Native grass (301,228 acres, 49.6% of county farmland)
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13 / 25#13. Otero
- Farmland: 746,290 acres (3.1% of state total)
- Farms: 626
- Most common crop: Native grass (677,383 acres, 90.8% of county farmland)
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14 / 25#12. Cheyenne
- Farmland: 800,411 acres (3.4% of state total)
- Farms: 1,054
- Most common crop: Native grass (372,043 acres, 46.5% of county farmland)
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15 / 25#11. Moffat
- Farmland: 852,999 acres (3.6% of state total)
- Farms: 591
- Most common crop: Native grass (765,269 acres, 89.7% of county farmland)
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16 / 25#10. Prowers
- Farmland: 874,103 acres (3.7% of state total)
- Farms: 1,305
- Most common crop: Native grass (438,737 acres, 50.2% of county farmland)
Bob Pool // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Logan
- Farmland: 986,604 acres (4.1% of state total)
- Farms: 1,482
- Most common crop: Native grass (422,185 acres, 42.8% of county farmland)
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Kiowa
- Farmland: 1,004,651 acres (4.2% of state total)
- Farms: 1,026
- Most common crop: Native grass (473,349 acres, 47.1% of county farmland)
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19 / 25#7. Kit Carson
- Farmland: 1,121,580 acres (4.7% of state total)
- Farms: 1,711
- Most common crop: Native grass (330,081 acres, 29.4% of county farmland)
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20 / 25#6. Weld
- Farmland: 1,136,215 acres (4.8% of state total)
- Farms: 2,717
- Most common crop: Native grass (500,428 acres, 44.0% of county farmland)
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21 / 25#5. Lincoln
- Farmland: 1,285,827 acres (5.4% of state total)
- Farms: 890
- Most common crop: Native grass (802,973 acres, 62.4% of county farmland)
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22 / 25#4. Baca
- Farmland: 1,338,752 acres (5.6% of state total)
- Farms: 1,620
- Most common crop: Native grass (644,192 acres, 48.1% of county farmland)
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23 / 25#3. Washington
- Farmland: 1,447,923 acres (6.1% of state total)
- Farms: 1,749
- Most common crop: Native grass (599,751 acres, 41.4% of county farmland)
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24 / 25#2. Las Animas
- Farmland: 1,455,935 acres (6.1% of state total)
- Farms: 457
- Most common crop: Native grass (1,406,869 acres, 96.6% of county farmland)
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25 / 25#1. Yuma
- Farmland: 1,506,387 acres (6.3% of state total)
- Farms: 1,830
- Most common crop: Native grass (826,413 acres, 54.9% of county farmland)
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