Republicans Represent 81 of Top 100 Ag Production Districts

Agri-Pulse’s Noah Wicks reported Wednesday that “Republicans are tightening their electoral grip on farm country, holding all but 19 of the top 100 congressional districts in terms of agricultural sales, according to an Agri-Pulse analysis of newly released data from USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture.”

“Republicans control 21 districts ranked highest for the value of sales of agricultural commodities in 2022, with Adrian Smith’s Nebraska district topping the list with $22.9 billion in sales,” Wicks reported. “Altogether, 81 of the top 100 districts in ag production are represented by Republicans. Three seats are currently vacant, and Republican Vince Fong won a race Tuesday for one of those, California’s 20th District, which was vacated by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.”

“The Democrat-held seat that ranks highest in agricultural production is California’s 18th district, which is represented by Rep. Zoe Lofgren,” Wicks reported. “…The districts held by California Democrats Raul Ruiz and Salud Carbajal rank 32nd and 36th, respectively. Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson’s seat is 38th on the list, while North Carolina Democrat and House Agriculture Committee member Don Davis’ district is 49th.”

“Even when ranking congressional districts by their overall number of farms, Republicans outnumber Democrats,” Wicks reported. “(Adrian) Smith’s Nebraska district led in 2022 with 34,297 total farms; (Michelle) Fischbach’s Minnesota district followed with 31,267 and (Randy) Feenstra’s Iowa district came in third with 29,941. New Mexico Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez is the first in her party to appear on that list, with her district ranking 43rd in terms of number of farms.”

Top 10 Congressional Districts by Overall Sales

1. Adrian Smith — Nebraska District 3 ($22.9 billion)
2. Randy Feenstra — Iowa District 4 ($22.1 billion)
3. Tracey Mann — Kansas District 1 ($17.9 billion)
4. Michelle Fischbach — Minnesota District 7 ($15.3 billion)
5. Dusty Johnson — South Dakota At-Large ($12.9 billion)
6. Kelly Armstrong — North Dakota At-Large ($12.1 billion)
7. John Duarte — California District 13 ($11.2 billion)
8. Ashley Hinson — Iowa District 2 ($10.8 billion)
9. Brad Finstad — Minnesota District 1 ($10.4 billion)
10. Ronny Jackson — Texas District 13 ($10.3 billion)

For the full list of U.S. Congressional Districts by overall agricultural sales, click here.

Top 10 Congressional Districts by Number of Farms

1. Adrian Smith — Nebraska District 3 (34,297)
2. Michelle Fischbach — Minnesota District 7 (31,267)
3. Randy Feenstra — Iowa District 4 (29,941)
4. Dusty Johnson — South Dakota At-Large (28,299)
5. Sam Graves — Missouri District 6 (27,116)
6. Tracey Mann — Kansas District 1 (26,628)
7.  Josh Brecheen — Oklahoma District 2 (26,466)
8. Kelly Armstrong — North Dakota At-Large (25,068)
9. Ashley Hinson — Iowa District 2 (23,572)
10. Frank Lucas — Oklahoma District 3 (23,317)

For the full list of U.S. Congressional Districts by total number of farms, click here.

In addition to counting overall agricultural sales and number of farms, the 2022 Census of Agriculture also counted total government payments received by farms in U.S. Congressional Districts, and many of the same districts counted above are featured in that count. Armstrong’s North Dakota At-Large District received a little more than $1 billion in government payments and Johnson’s South Dakota At-Large District received $744 million in government payments. No other district received more than $500 million.