Friends, this week – September 23 – there will not be a Market Day due to the Tuscarawas County Fair. However, we encourage you to check out the fair and learn about all the things that are key to the agriculture industry in Tuscarawas County. From milk to cheese and grain to flour and eggs to chickens, Tuscarawas County remains a staple of the greater agriculture community in the State of Ohio.
Here are some of the facts about Tuscarawas County’s agricultural impact according to the USDA.
Farm and Land Statistics
- Total Farms: 1,154
- Land in Farms: 166,404 acres
- Average Farm Size: ~144 acres
Major Crops (Acres Harvested)
- Forage (hay/haylage): 28,353 acres
- Corn for grain: 20,105 acres
- Soybeans for beans: 17,253 acres
- Corn for silage/greenchop: 5,189 acres
- Wheat for grain: 2,963 acres [1]
Total Revenue & Sales
- Market Value of Products Sold: $143,301,000
- Average Sales Per Farm: $124,178
- Farm-Related Income: $4,097,000 (from sources like custom work, agri-tourism, or rent)
- Livestock, Poultry, and Products: 74% of total sales (~$106 million)
- Crops: 26% of total sales
- Total Farm Production Expenses: $112,349,000 spent locally on inputs
- Net Cash Farm Income: $35,862,000 total net profit remaining with local producers
1. Poultry and Eggs
- Annual Value: $49,437,000
- Impact: This is the county’s largest single agricultural sector. Operations in the area raise massive numbers of broilers (meat-type chickens), shipping them out to regional processing plants.
2. Milk from Cows (Dairy)
- Annual Value: $37,775,000
- Impact: Tuscarawas County sits on the edge of Ohio’s famous “Amish Country” cheese production region. The vast majority of this milk is exported out of the county’s farms to regional dairy cooperatives and major Swiss cheese processing factories in neighboring Holmes and Wayne counties.
3. Cattle and Calves
- Annual Value: $11,450,000
- Impact: Beef cattle represent another major segment, with livestock frequently sold and transported out of the county to larger livestock markets and feedlots.
We will see you next week on September 30 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Tuscarawas County Fairgrounds in Dover, OH!