1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 CALIFORNIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 74 126 77 669 Land in farms ..................acres.. 27 698 779 28 978 997 Average size of farm .......acres.. 374 373 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 941 170 820 063 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 605 2 213 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 69 590 56 485 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 20 662 21 485 10 to 49 acres ...................... 24 250 26 089 50 to 179 acres ..................... 13 288 13 883 180 to 499 acres .................... 7 270 7 512 500 to 999 acres .................... 3 572 3 702 1,000 acres or more ................. 5 084 4 998 Total cropland .................farms.. 62 269 64 417 acres.. 10 803 804 10 479 268 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 55 590 56 785 acres.. 8 543 159 7 760 773 Irrigated land .................farms.. 55 920 56 546 acres.. 8 712 893 7 571 313 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 23 032 259 17 051 912 Average per farm .........dollars.. 310 718 219 546 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 17 033 714 11 747 474 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 5 998 545 5 304 438 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 19 473 22 692 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 6 516 7 160 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 6 498 7 417 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 8 621 9 324 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 6 747 6 899 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 6 544 6 360 $100,000 or more .................... 19 727 17 817 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 16 817 253 13 804 983 Average per farm .........dollars.. 226 868 177 755 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 39 267 40 215 Other ............................... 34 859 37 454 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 37 919 41 278 200 days or more ................... 24 012 26 681 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 17 335 19 097 number.. 4 968 679 4 702 114 Beef cows ..................farms.. 12 158 13 105 number.. 890 805 862 971 Milk cows ..................farms.. 2 650 3 124 number.. 1 403 217 1 249 038 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 16 007 17 205 number.. 3 107 562 2 993 538 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 1 593 2 221 number.. 212 088 258 130 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 1 193 1 761 number.. 373 352 481 270 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 3 014 3 692 number.. 784 041 859 835 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 2 731 3 592 number.. 34 149 987 33 253 782 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 240 298 number.. 237 723 294 225 074 862 Selected crops harvested: Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 2 065 2 236 acres.. 581 071 569 044 bushels.. 42 372 177 39 456 581 Barley for grain..............farms.. 574 933 acres.. 129 549 204 119 bushels.. 7 475 447 12 183 472 Rice..........................farms.. 1 544 1 575 acres.. 514 081 401 194 cwt.. 41 457 650 31 865 036 Cotton .......................farms.. 1 833 2 351 acres.. 1 036 316 1 066 060 bales.. 2 543 194 2 792 443 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 8 636 9 286 acres.. 1 698 773 1 531 230 tons, dry.. 8 344 564 7 567 342 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 4 490 3 713 acres.. 1 209 259 1 016 744 Land in orchards..............farms.. 38 747 40 298 acres.. 2 582 084 2 245 781 @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.