1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 1 916 1 880 Land in farms ..................acres.. 1 301 889 1 324 403 Average size of farm .......acres.. 679 704 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 1 045 953 1 101 880 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 591 1 519 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 49 030 34 119 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 330 313 10 to 49 acres ...................... 614 605 50 to 179 acres ..................... 386 367 180 to 499 acres .................... 209 211 500 to 999 acres .................... 145 132 1,000 acres or more ................. 232 252 Total cropland .................farms.. 1 511 1 439 acres.. 280 524 304 740 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 1 220 1 162 acres.. 105 237 102 838 Irrigated land .................farms.. 925 792 acres.. 60 573 47 479 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 312 950 184 855 Average per farm .........dollars.. 163 335 98 327 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 280 150 156 019 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 32 800 28 837 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 581 680 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 195 208 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 236 248 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 271 246 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 168 164 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 128 108 $100,000 or more .................... 337 226 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 223 755 149 630 Average per farm .........dollars.. 116 844 79 548 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 927 947 Other ............................... 989 933 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 1 047 1 037 200 days or more ................... 658 634 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 715 770 number.. 100 368 81 936 Beef cows ..................farms.. 621 619 number.. 51 297 37 365 Milk cows ..................farms.. 17 27 number.. 674 434 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 674 701 number.. 56 286 44 428 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 61 103 number.. 1 008 3 344 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 41 69 number.. 1 683 7 073 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 96 97 number.. 21 132 9 783 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 95 113 number.. 12 870 (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 4 3 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 20 32 acres.. 3 633 7 000 bushels.. 104 973 225 651 Barley for grain..............farms.. 49 83 acres.. 22 676 24 964 bushels.. 782 711 1 050 898 Rice..........................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 cwt.. 0 0 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 226 299 acres.. 20 647 22 262 tons, dry.. 48 605 68 878 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 219 188 acres.. 28 869 23 761 Land in orchards..............farms.. 718 624 acres.. 29 384 20 593 @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.