1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 1 997 1 995 Land in farms ..................acres.. 2 851 462 2 839 531 Average size of farm .......acres.. 1 428 1 423 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 2 162 200 1 667 119 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 605 1 199 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 189 226 159 098 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 314 364 10 to 49 acres ...................... 387 413 50 to 179 acres ..................... 381 349 180 to 499 acres .................... 309 313 500 to 999 acres .................... 213 210 1,000 acres or more ................. 393 346 Total cropland .................farms.. 1 522 1 522 acres.. 1 054 228 963 761 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 1 360 1 329 acres.. 893 221 760 159 Irrigated land .................farms.. 1 406 1 375 acres.. 912 584 736 217 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 1 968 513 1 336 886 Average per farm .........dollars.. 985 735 670 118 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 1 786 994 1 209 708 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 181 520 127 178 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 408 487 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 137 128 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 119 132 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 145 128 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 144 126 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 134 147 $100,000 or more .................... 910 847 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 1 509 960 1 114 176 Average per farm .........dollars.. 756 493 558 484 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 1 274 1 165 Other ............................... 723 830 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 895 1 005 200 days or more ................... 568 641 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 462 425 number.. 213 309 153 552 Beef cows ..................farms.. 348 307 number.. 43 404 35 208 Milk cows ..................farms.. 39 43 number.. 42 926 34 566 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 429 379 number.. 148 844 96 790 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 55 62 number.. 1 988 1 490 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 43 50 number.. 6 552 4 441 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 83 103 number.. 149 127 177 874 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 72 113 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 3 3 number.. 74 57 Selected crops harvested: Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 202 143 acres.. 60 270 37 524 bushels.. 4 418 274 2 396 382 Barley for grain..............farms.. 35 61 acres.. 13 085 20 597 bushels.. 724 648 1 284 316 Rice..........................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 cwt.. 0 0 Cotton .......................farms.. 370 472 acres.. 265 462 263 080 bales.. 642 356 655 369 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 407 385 acres.. 122 047 91 970 tons, dry.. 790 892 611 321 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 179 164 acres.. 89 071 68 407 Land in orchards..............farms.. 860 782 acres.. 297 840 236 526 @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.