Agriculture
The total area of Stearns County is 1,394 square miles or 892,160 acres, extending approximately 54 miles east to west and 36 miles north to south. Lakes and wetlands cover about 34,000 acres of the land area and agriculture about 717,000 acres. Land use varies from urban/suburban residential in the east to rural towns and agriculture in the west.
Agriculture, the dairy industry in particular, is very important to Stearns County’s economy. Dairy production puts Stearns County at 21st in the nation and 1st in the state. Stearns County also has more farms than any other county in Minnesota; and the indirect impacts of the animal agriculture industry continues to grow – that is, more jobs are being created in ag-related sales, shipping and processing.