1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 CHEROKEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 494 441 Land in farms ..................acres.. 123 122 121 504 Average size of farm .......acres.. 249 276 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 301 715 248 739 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 328 890 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 44 132 41 606 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 11 12 10 to 49 acres ...................... 111 106 50 to 179 acres ..................... 206 179 180 to 499 acres .................... 113 83 500 to 999 acres .................... 30 37 1,000 acres or more ................. 23 24 Total cropland .................farms.. 445 382 acres.. 69 006 70 710 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 321 323 acres.. 43 228 46 444 Irrigated land .................farms.. 15 19 acres.. 829 2 169 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 49 324 39 717 Average per farm .........dollars.. 99 847 90 062 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 23 602 23 229 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 25 722 16 489 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 153 106 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 86 77 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 83 91 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 74 55 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 24 32 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 17 21 $100,000 or more .................... 57 59 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 36 058 31 317 Average per farm .........dollars.. 72 992 71 013 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 192 202 Other ............................... 302 239 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 300 236 200 days or more ................... 221 167 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 319 255 number.. 15 476 14 492 Beef cows ..................farms.. 284 235 number.. 7 991 6 849 Milk cows ..................farms.. 6 13 number.. 192 292 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 307 256 number.. 11 561 8 819 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 10 19 number.. 895 2 592 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 12 17 number.. 2 012 3 572 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 4 4 number.. (D) 135 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 4 7 number.. (D) 157 715 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 15 7 number.. 10 071 909 7 634 000 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 40 55 acres.. 2 115 3 054 bushels.. 150 574 298 284 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 17 12 acres.. 1 001 1 636 bushels.. 37 441 75 749 Cotton .......................farms.. 69 96 acres.. 20 041 21 453 bales.. 24 721 29 824 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 72 99 acres.. 10 123 14 760 bushels.. 222 213 398 182 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 213 176 acres.. 10 183 5 367 tons, dry.. 22 785 11 321 @1Data are based on a sample of farms. Legend: (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual farms (X) Not applicable (Z) Less than half the unit shown (NA) Not available Source: 1997 Census of Agriculture, Volume 1 Geographic Area Series, "Table 1. County Summary Highlights: 1997." This electronic series presents summary statistics for each county and State together with comparable data from the 1992 census. The items included are the same for all States and counties, except selected crops harvested, which vary by State. Data for 1997 and 1992 are directly comparable for acreage and inventories. Dollar values have not been adjusted for changes in price levels. You can obtain the Volume 1 Geographic Area Series from the National Technical Information Service. If you have any questions concerning the data in this report or need additional information or order forms for agriculture publications, please call the National Agricultural Statistics Service at 1-800-523-3215 or 1-800-727-9540.