1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 1 127 910 Land in farms ..................acres.. 253 889 207 226 Average size of farm .......acres.. 225 228 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 480 035 350 247 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 090 1 494 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 46 554 37 140 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 67 51 10 to 49 acres ...................... 378 267 50 to 179 acres ..................... 428 369 180 to 499 acres .................... 138 121 500 to 999 acres .................... 64 53 1,000 acres or more ................. 52 49 Total cropland .................farms.. 973 811 acres.. 181 292 154 535 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 700 634 acres.. 90 163 94 637 Irrigated land .................farms.. 49 31 acres.. 4 562 3 036 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 53 026 53 856 Average per farm .........dollars.. 47 051 59 183 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 23 097 35 219 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 29 929 18 637 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 455 295 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 199 178 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 175 149 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 125 122 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 51 40 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 32 25 $100,000 or more .................... 90 101 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 43 781 40 897 Average per farm .........dollars.. 38 848 44 942 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 375 334 Other ............................... 752 576 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 737 539 200 days or more ................... 562 442 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 730 608 number.. 28 712 25 440 Beef cows ..................farms.. 663 557 number.. 15 994 14 018 Milk cows ..................farms.. 15 18 number.. 469 547 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 709 586 number.. 14 251 11 462 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 12 24 number.. (D) 2 918 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 9 14 number.. (D) 5 440 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 10 9 number.. 260 353 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 35 24 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 12 8 number.. 5 308 715 3 529 000 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 92 97 acres.. 8 411 5 484 bushels.. 714 632 533 558 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 45 38 acres.. 5 590 2 558 bushels.. 269 438 106 424 Cotton .......................farms.. 54 136 acres.. 21 951 58 686 bales.. 23 978 90 211 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 138 116 acres.. 36 287 12 799 bushels.. 1 046 298 402 867 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 524 435 acres.. 21 592 15 163 tons, dry.. 38 145 25 354 @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.