1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 MERCED COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 2 831 2 879 Land in farms ..................acres.. 881 696 978 831 Average size of farm .......acres.. 311 340 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 950 554 798 225 Average per acre .........dollars.. 3 149 2 306 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 95 876 68 802 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 411 382 10 to 49 acres ...................... 1 074 1 160 50 to 179 acres ..................... 677 708 180 to 499 acres .................... 362 296 500 to 999 acres .................... 135 153 1,000 acres or more ................. 172 180 Total cropland .................farms.. 2 485 2 522 acres.. 532 327 534 318 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 2 219 2 207 acres.. 434 074 417 346 Irrigated land .................farms.. 2 411 2 409 acres.. 493 072 427 815 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 1 273 475 907 600 Average per farm .........dollars.. 449 832 315 248 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 577 894 386 256 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 695 581 521 344 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 443 452 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 166 194 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 176 219 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 326 406 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 325 341 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 302 316 $100,000 or more .................... 1 093 951 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 978 088 741 026 Average per farm .........dollars.. 345 248 257 390 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 1 752 1 770 Other ............................... 1 079 1 109 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 1 299 1 307 200 days or more ................... 823 847 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 907 975 number.. 407 376 329 494 Beef cows ..................farms.. 474 459 number.. 39 956 36 938 Milk cows ..................farms.. 339 358 number.. 187 717 144 771 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 884 936 number.. 137 645 139 509 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 61 75 number.. 7 906 19 802 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 41 63 number.. 21 102 39 685 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 66 87 number.. 14 534 20 798 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 71 81 number.. (D) 2 595 848 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 11 13 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 54 70 acres.. 11 413 13 015 bushels.. 749 701 925 810 Barley for grain..............farms.. 26 27 acres.. 4 623 6 902 bushels.. 355 540 375 863 Rice..........................farms.. 12 4 acres.. 4 341 1 188 cwt.. 327 010 106 960 Cotton .......................farms.. 184 198 acres.. 74 620 73 292 bales.. 205 550 182 558 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 692 655 acres.. 140 744 126 696 tons, dry.. 740 416 649 599 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 156 116 acres.. 32 561 25 448 Land in orchards..............farms.. 1 387 1 399 acres.. 123 709 117 902 @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.