1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 255 241 Land in farms ..................acres.. 11 935 9 975 Average size of farm .......acres.. 47 41 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 636 234 623 929 Average per acre .........dollars.. 15 558 17 673 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 30 661 30 158 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 92 92 10 to 49 acres ...................... 91 87 50 to 179 acres ..................... 56 51 180 to 499 acres .................... 16 11 500 to 999 acres .................... 0 0 1,000 acres or more ................. 0 0 Total cropland .................farms.. 214 207 acres.. 6 314 5 000 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 194 174 acres.. 4 380 3 004 Irrigated land .................farms.. 58 62 acres.. 265 244 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 16 837 8 717 Average per farm .........dollars.. 66 026 36 170 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 10 896 7 415 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 5 940 1 302 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 84 86 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 30 37 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 40 27 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 36 36 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 27 13 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 13 18 $100,000 or more .................... 25 24 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 10 781 6 994 Average per farm .........dollars.. 42 278 29 142 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 126 115 Other ............................... 129 126 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 119 125 200 days or more ................... 72 72 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 51 51 number.. 843 1 269 Beef cows ..................farms.. 32 33 number.. 211 338 Milk cows ..................farms.. 15 16 number.. 179 390 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 34 36 number.. 334 488 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 12 22 number.. 51 163 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 7 11 number.. 93 129 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 23 23 number.. 313 595 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 36 46 number.. 1 231 3 882 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 3 number.. 0 800 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 1 4 acres.. (D) (D) bushels.. (D) 1 060 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 11 15 acres.. 134 308 tons, green.. 2 194 5 381 Potatoes, excl. sweetpotatoes.farms.. 2 1 acres.. (D) (D) cwt.. (D) (D) Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 67 61 acres.. 2 641 1 841 tons, dry.. 3 508 3 654 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 57 44 acres.. 418 382 Land in orchards..............farms.. 23 31 acres.. 330 339 @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.