1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 ALASKA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 548 512 Land in farms ..................acres.. 881 045 923 037 Average size of farm .......acres.. 1 608 1 803 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 486 827 486 550 Average per acre .........dollars.. 303 270 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 53 003 43 795 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 96 76 10 to 49 acres ...................... 98 93 50 to 179 acres ..................... 171 160 180 to 499 acres .................... 93 85 500 to 999 acres .................... 33 41 1,000 acres or more ................. 57 57 Total cropland .................farms.. 434 419 acres.. 94 810 84 061 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 381 352 acres.. 34 227 22 699 Irrigated land .................farms.. 114 93 acres.. 2 667 1 566 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 24 650 15 351 Average per farm .........dollars.. 44 982 29 982 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 15 968 11 228 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 8 682 4 123 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 187 211 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 75 75 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 66 67 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 99 70 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 44 30 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 30 25 $100,000 or more .................... 47 34 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 21 821 16 308 Average per farm .........dollars.. 39 820 31 851 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 306 273 Other ............................... 242 239 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 314 308 200 days or more ................... 145 145 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 120 132 number.. 11 111 8 002 Beef cows ..................farms.. 84 97 number.. 3 694 3 224 Milk cows ..................farms.. 30 34 number.. 1 101 715 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 92 115 number.. 2 847 1 672 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 53 45 number.. 2 112 2 135 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 33 40 number.. 2 532 2 800 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 40 27 number.. 1 605 2 233 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 63 51 number.. 2 138 1 974 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 9 7 number.. 1 860 (D) Selected crops harvested: Barley for grain..............farms.. 31 22 acres.. 7 106 2 676 bushels.. 164 015 136 228 Oats for grain................farms.. 22 12 acres.. 1 463 547 bushels.. 64 140 25 944 Potatoes, excl. sweetpotatoes.farms.. 63 56 acres.. 814 629 cwt.. 159 056 127 559 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 267 230 acres.. 24 023 (D) tons, dry.. 28 664 23 510 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 48 54 acres.. 315 262 @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.