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1 / 25#25. Thurston
- Farmland: 3,626 acres (.0% of state total)
- Farms: 35
- Most common crop: Native grass (2,364 acres, 65.2% of county farmland)
Counties with the most farmland in Washington
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 Washington 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 Washington, there are 9,120,223 acres of farmland, with native grass being the most common crop.
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2 / 25#24. Clark
- Farmland: 4,311 acres (.0% of state total)
- Farms: 65
- Most common crop: 2+ interseeded grass mix mixed forage (836 acres, 19.4% of county farmland)
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3 / 25#23. Lewis
- Farmland: 7,633 acres (.1% of state total)
- Farms: 142
- Most common crop: Native grass (3,333 acres, 43.7% of county farmland)
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4 / 25#22. Snohomish, North King
- Farmland: 13,541 acres (.1% of state total)
- Farms: 253
- Most common crop: Yellow corn (4,176 acres, 30.8% of county farmland)
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5 / 25#21. Chelan
- Farmland: 21,867 acres (.2% of state total)
- Farms: 23
- Most common crop: Native grass (19,715 acres, 90.2% of county farmland)
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6 / 25#20. Skagit
- Farmland: 22,469 acres (.2% of state total)
- Farms: 432
- Most common crop: Yellow corn (4,745 acres, 21.1% of county farmland)
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7 / 25#19. Whatcom
- Farmland: 35,913 acres (.4% of state total)
- Farms: 1,104
- Most common crop: 2+ interseeded grass mix mixed forage (11,478 acres, 32.0% of county farmland)
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8 / 25#18. Ferry
- Farmland: 65,609 acres (.7% of state total)
- Farms: 49
- Most common crop: Native grass (62,383 acres, 95.1% of county farmland)
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9 / 25#17. Kittitas
- Farmland: 100,685 acres (1.1% of state total)
- Farms: 244
- Most common crop: Native grass (73,704 acres, 73.2% of county farmland)
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10 / 25#16. Stevens
- Farmland: 109,645 acres (1.2% of state total)
- Farms: 430
- Most common crop: Native grass (84,671 acres, 77.2% of county farmland)
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11 / 25#15. Garfield
- Farmland: 245,734 acres (2.7% of state total)
- Farms: 402
- Most common crop: Native grass (105,815 acres, 43.1% of county farmland)
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12 / 25#14. Columbia
- Farmland: 252,284 acres (2.8% of state total)
- Farms: 401
- Most common crop: Soft white winter wheat (68,724 acres, 27.2% of county farmland)
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13 / 25#13. Asotin
- Farmland: 275,644 acres (3.0% of state total)
- Farms: 207
- Most common crop: Native grass (166,890 acres, 60.5% of county farmland)
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14 / 25#12. Benton
- Farmland: 318,595 acres (3.5% of state total)
- Farms: 384
- Most common crop: Fallow (97,001 acres, 30.4% of county farmland)
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15 / 25#11. Spokane
- Farmland: 356,822 acres (3.9% of state total)
- Farms: 1,996
- Most common crop: Soft white winter wheat (83,127 acres, 23.3% of county farmland)
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16 / 25#10. Okanogan
- Farmland: 402,238 acres (4.4% of state total)
- Farms: 551
- Most common crop: Native grass (357,308 acres, 88.8% of county farmland)
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17 / 25#9. Franklin
- Farmland: 426,453 acres (4.7% of state total)
- Farms: 666
- Most common crop: Native grass (108,828 acres, 25.5% of county farmland)
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18 / 25#8. Yakima
- Farmland: 444,005 acres (4.9% of state total)
- Farms: 674
- Most common crop: Native grass (330,118 acres, 74.4% of county farmland)
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19 / 25#7. Walla Walla
- Farmland: 511,005 acres (5.6% of state total)
- Farms: 894
- Most common crop: Soft white winter wheat (149,693 acres, 29.3% of county farmland)
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20 / 25#6. Grant
- Farmland: 697,391 acres (7.6% of state total)
- Farms: 1,413
- Most common crop: Native grass (143,809 acres, 20.6% of county farmland)
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21 / 25#5. Douglas
- Farmland: 751,628 acres (8.2% of state total)
- Farms: 1,085
- Most common crop: Native grass (202,783 acres, 27.0% of county farmland)
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22 / 25#4. Klickitat
- Farmland: 812,344 acres (8.9% of state total)
- Farms: 855
- Most common crop: Native grass (600,393 acres, 73.9% of county farmland)
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23 / 25#3. Whitman
- Farmland: 1,026,006 acres (11.2% of state total)
- Farms: 2,083
- Most common crop: Soft white winter wheat (340,689 acres, 33.2% of county farmland)
Arpad Jasko // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Lincoln
- Farmland: 1,088,898 acres (11.9% of state total)
- Farms: 1,671
- Most common crop: Fallow (255,187 acres, 23.4% of county farmland)
Arpad Jasko // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. Adams
- Farmland: 1,112,939 acres (12.2% of state total)
- Farms: 1,342
- Most common crop: Native grass (263,168 acres, 23.6% of county farmland)
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