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North Carolina Farms and Ranches: Agriculture History, How Farms Make Money and Strategy

Guide updated November 2026

North Carolina farms are small in average size but huge in output. The USDA's 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 42,817 farms on 8,128,136 acres, an average of 190 acres each, with $18.69 billion in agricultural products sold. About 75 percent of that value came from livestock, poultry and their products, and about 25 percent from crops including nursery and greenhouse.

North Carolina agriculture at a glance
Farms and land in farms42,817 farms on 8,128,136 acres; average 190 acres (2022 Census of Agriculture)
Top commoditiesBroilers, hogs, eggs, soybeans, tobacco, sweetpotatoes, plus turkeys, peanuts and cucumbers
Market value of ag products sold$18,692,574,000 in 2022; livestock about $13.98 billion, crops about $4.71 billion
State agriculture departmentNorth Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Land-grant extensionNC State Extension (North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T)
Farm BureauNorth Carolina Farm Bureau Federation

Agriculture in North Carolina: A Short History

North Carolina agriculture grew from tobacco, cotton and small mixed farms in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain into one of the most diversified farm economies in the country. Tobacco defined the state's rural economy for generations, and it still ranks first nationally: USDA's state highlights show North Carolina producing 63.1 percent of U.S. tobacco, including flue-cured. Sweetpotatoes grew from a small garden crop into a flagship industry, and the state now accounts for 52.6 percent of U.S. production in the same highlights.

The late twentieth century added the animal sector. Poultry and hog production expanded across the eastern and central parts of the state, and by 2024 broilers brought in $6.03 billion in cash receipts and hogs $2.48 billion, according to USDA. Meanwhile the number of farms has fallen: the state highlights report 42,100 farms in 2024, down from 45,400 in 2020, while land in farms is steady at roughly 8.1 million acres.

How Farms in North Carolina Make Money

Commodity sales

Broilers are the biggest earner at $6.03 billion in 2024, about 40.8 percent of the state's $14.77 billion in farm cash receipts, followed by hogs at $2.48 billion, miscellaneous crops at $955 million, chicken eggs at $854 million and soybeans at $658 million. Livestock, dairy and poultry make up 73.9 percent of receipts, crops 26.1 percent. North Carolina ranks first in all poultry and egg cash receipts, second in pig crop and turkeys, and third in hogs, peanuts and cucumbers.

Value-added and direct sales

Sweetpotato packers such as Barnes Farming, Scott Farms and Vick Family Farms add value through grading, curing, cold storage and export, shipping across the year rather than at harvest. Hog and poultry growers typically sell under contract to integrators, which trades margin for stable payment and supplies of animals and feed.

Agritourism, leases and diversification

Mountain Christmas tree growers in counties such as Ashe sell wholesale and retail, and competition wins such as Peak Farms' national Grand Champion titles build reputation. Timber, conservation easements and stream mitigation add income for farms like Grayhouse Farms, which holds four easements. Farms near Raleigh, Charlotte and the Triangle can also turn to direct and visitor sales.

Agriculture Strategy for North Carolina Farms

Soils, water and climate

Eastern North Carolina has sandy Coastal Plain soils, a long growing season and generally ample rainfall, which suits sweetpotatoes, tobacco, peanuts, cotton and soybeans in rotation. Rotation is how growers manage disease and nematode pressure, particularly in sweetpotatoes. The Piedmont suits dairy, forage and diversified crops, while the mountains suit Fraser fir, and NC State has run Christmas tree research in Ashe County since 1989.

Production and risk

Hurricanes and flooding are the main risks for the eastern half of the state, along with drought and heat. Crop insurance, FSA programs and NRCS conservation cost-share are the usual risk tools, and livestock growers need nutrient management plans for manure. Grayhouse Farms, the 2025 Carolinas Leopold Conservation Award winner, shows a dairy using a sand separator, a four-lagoon system, no-till and stream fencing to manage both risk and public trust.

Technology and inputs

Automated packing and curing, as at Scott Farms, which reported a 60,000 square foot automated packing facility in 2015, reduce labor needs in a labor-intensive crop. University trials, such as NC State herbicide and insect trials on Peak Farms land, help farms test inputs before they commit acreage.

Farm Business Strategy in North Carolina

Margins and markets

Commodity poultry and hog income depends on integrator contracts, feed prices and housing costs, so growers should model debt service against contract terms. Specialty crops earn more per acre but need packing, storage and marketing skill. Export is a proven path: Barnes Farming reported exporting about 40 percent of its sweetpotatoes in 2017, and Scott Farms has offices in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Land, credit and succession

With average farm size near 190 acres and land values pressured by development, leasing, FSA loans and Farm Credit lenders are central to expansion. Family farms such as Scott Farms, described as sixth-generation, and Barnes Farming, now led by a third generation, show the value of bringing the next generation in early. Conservation easements through groups such as Carolina Farm Trust can help keep land in farming and unlock capital.

Marketing and diversification

The strongest operations own more of the chain. Barnes started Farm Pak Products in 1969 as its sales arm, and Vick Family Farms added organic sweetpotatoes, sweet corn and value-added products. The NC Sweetpotato Commission and producer groups give smaller growers access to market data and promotion.

Farm Insight: North Carolina Trends to Watch

Watch the consolidation trend: farm numbers fell from 45,400 in 2020 to 42,100 in 2024 in USDA's estimates, while the biggest operations scale their packing, storage and export capacity. Sweetpotatoes, poultry and hogs will keep leading, but diversification and conservation credentials increasingly matter to lenders, buyers and neighbors.

Awards also signal where the industry is heading. Leopold recognition for a dairy, Grand Champion wins for a Christmas tree family and Southeast Farmer of the Year for a diversified Princeton grower all reward operations that combine scale with stewardship, record keeping and community presence.

A state that leads the nation in tobacco, sweetpotatoes and poultry receipts has plenty of material for a satirist, and the team at farm.FM keeps a steady supply of farm satire for it. Good farm humor in North Carolina involves hurricanes, barbecue arguments and the permanent question of whether a sweetpotato is a yam. Add some ranch humor about the Piedmont cattle and the mountain Christmas trees, and the farm jokes about 42,000 farms practically sort themselves.

The outlet behind those laughs, farm.FM, is the nation's first satirical farm site, complete with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers. A farm.FM humorist's archive shows what a week of it looks like.

Elite Farms and Ranches in North Carolina

These 6 operations are profiled in full, with history, how each makes money, lessons for other farms and published contact details.

Elite operations in North Carolina

Who to Contact in North Carolina: Agriculture Offices and Associations

North Carolina Farming FAQ

How many farms are in North Carolina?

The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 42,817 farms on 8,128,136 acres, averaging 190 acres.

What is North Carolina's biggest farm commodity?

Broilers, with $6.03 billion in cash receipts in 2024 per USDA, followed by hogs at $2.48 billion.

What does North Carolina lead the nation in?

USDA lists it first in tobacco, sweetpotatoes and total poultry and egg cash receipts.

Which North Carolina farms are profiled here?

Grayhouse Farms, Barnes Farming, Scott Farms, Vick Family Farms, Peak Farms and Danny Kornegay Farm.

North Carolina farms combine small average size with national leadership in tobacco, sweetpotatoes and poultry. Read the profiled operations below for concrete examples of dairy, sweetpotato packing, Christmas trees and diversified row crops.

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