1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 NEW CASTLE COUNTY, DELAWARE Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 327 336 Land in farms ..................acres.. 77 302 87 134 Average size of farm .......acres.. 236 259 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 908 126 853 261 Average per acre .........dollars.. 3 708 3 146 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 83 899 75 434 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 36 35 10 to 49 acres ...................... 117 119 50 to 179 acres ..................... 74 83 180 to 499 acres .................... 57 55 500 to 999 acres .................... 23 19 1,000 acres or more ................. 20 25 Total cropland .................farms.. 307 315 acres.. 66 506 73 436 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 279 277 acres.. 62 436 67 852 Irrigated land .................farms.. 52 40 acres.. 2 857 2 033 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 36 943 40 289 Average per farm .........dollars.. 112 976 119 908 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 26 343 32 065 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 10 601 8 224 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 98 87 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 35 30 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 24 50 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 47 49 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 31 32 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 24 21 $100,000 or more .................... 68 67 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 29 852 35 642 Average per farm .........dollars.. 91 569 106 394 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 169 198 Other ............................... 158 138 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 156 161 200 days or more ................... 115 102 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 68 63 number.. 2 698 3 446 Beef cows ..................farms.. 39 34 number.. (D) 500 Milk cows ..................farms.. 10 12 number.. (D) 1 371 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 63 56 number.. 1 483 1 152 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 11 11 number.. 51 630 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 4 9 number.. 26 1 043 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 14 11 number.. 222 238 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 12 17 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 3 8 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 123 144 acres.. 24 481 32 048 bushels.. 1 922 873 3 975 268 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 90 78 acres.. 12 755 9 643 bushels.. 874 211 568 531 Barley for grain..............farms.. 17 22 acres.. 1 208 1 481 bushels.. 94 962 102 759 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 117 126 acres.. 27 320 25 591 bushels.. 754 445 921 300 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 85 88 acres.. 3 915 3 283 tons, dry.. 7 283 9 663 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 42 32 acres.. 982 1 069 @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.