Bullitt County Agriculture - 2007

The 2007 Agriculture Census provides an interesting glimpse into the state of agriculture in Bullitt County.

In the five years since the previous agriculture census (2002) the number of farms in Bullitt County decreased from 616 to 519 with a decrease of 10,194 acres of farmland. The value of crop sales increased from $3,502,000 in 2002 to $3,760,000 in 2007, but the value of livestock sales dropped significantly from $3,727,000 to $2,532,000. In what was essentially a rural county fifty years ago, only about 25% of its land remains in agricultural use now.

Of the land in farms in 2007, 48.42% was in cropland, 27.16% in woodland, 17.59% in pasture, with the remainder dedicated to other uses. Only 13 of its 519 farms had sales of $100,000 or more annually, while 465 farms had sales of less than $20,000. Less than 43% of the principal operators of Bullitt County farms listed farming as their primary occupation. The average age of principal operators was 58, and the vast majority were white males.

It is interesting to note that in 2007 Bullitt County ranked first in Kentucky in the livestock inventory of pheasants and pigeons or squab. Its top crop item, in acres grown, was forage land used for hay and similar crops. Ranking a distant second and third were soybeans and corn.

A summary of the Bullitt County agriculture census for 2007 in pdf format is available by going to the Ag Census page for Kentucky and selecting Bullitt County from the list there.