1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 ASHLEY COUNTY, ARKANSAS Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 299 300 Land in farms ..................acres.. 165 826 151 325 Average size of farm .......acres.. 555 504 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 549 647 398 093 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 078 856 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 94 875 83 621 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 14 7 10 to 49 acres ...................... 57 69 50 to 179 acres ..................... 82 76 180 to 499 acres .................... 51 51 500 to 999 acres .................... 36 44 1,000 acres or more ................. 59 53 Total cropland .................farms.. 239 273 acres.. 138 220 131 294 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 212 239 acres.. 129 963 111 363 Irrigated land .................farms.. 114 130 acres.. 90 966 61 608 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 59 378 45 175 Average per farm .........dollars.. 198 590 150 582 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 51 329 39 312 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 8 049 5 863 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 80 86 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 34 24 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 30 18 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 18 24 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 15 16 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 21 21 $100,000 or more .................... 101 111 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 39 012 35 158 Average per farm .........dollars.. 130 913 117 193 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 161 167 Other ............................... 138 133 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 146 147 200 days or more ................... 96 107 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 120 117 number.. 4 954 5 011 Beef cows ..................farms.. 105 103 number.. (D) (D) Milk cows ..................farms.. 2 2 number.. (D) (D) Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 113 104 number.. 2 241 1 791 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 12 13 number.. 276 705 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 9 9 number.. 589 2 436 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 3 4 number.. 4 79 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 10 15 number.. (D) 397 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 1 number.. 0 (D) Selected crops harvested: Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 2 17 acres.. (D) 1 944 bushels.. (D) 84 430 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 21 21 acres.. 4 579 6 202 bushels.. 171 544 182 881 Rice..........................farms.. 51 63 acres.. 19 170 15 023 cwt.. 986 505 762 083 Cotton .......................farms.. 70 103 acres.. 53 649 51 977 bales.. 103 883 92 628 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 107 100 acres.. 51 491 33 898 bushels.. 1 403 888 1 057 702 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 88 99 acres.. 3 202 3 736 tons, dry.. 5 038 6 369 @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.