1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 DE SOTO COUNTY, FLORIDA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 715 804 Land in farms ..................acres.. 322 402 334 623 Average size of farm .......acres.. 451 416 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 1 133 735 848 575 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 510 1 986 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 58 513 42 272 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 91 127 10 to 49 acres ...................... 289 327 50 to 179 acres ..................... 184 183 180 to 499 acres .................... 66 74 500 to 999 acres .................... 33 38 1,000 acres or more ................. 52 55 Total cropland .................farms.. 558 653 acres.. 126 633 89 670 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 459 559 acres.. 89 405 62 250 Irrigated land .................farms.. 378 437 acres.. 72 939 58 806 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 180 983 128 656 Average per farm .........dollars.. 253 123 160 020 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 158 512 113 091 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 22 471 15 565 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 195 211 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 61 72 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 85 87 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 104 131 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 72 97 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 63 75 $100,000 or more .................... 135 131 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 143 949 92 096 Average per farm .........dollars.. 201 047 114 548 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 330 345 Other ............................... 385 459 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 358 437 200 days or more ................... 267 322 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 341 347 number.. 76 226 66 115 Beef cows ..................farms.. 301 305 number.. (D) (D) Milk cows ..................farms.. 10 12 number.. (D) (D) Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 311 323 number.. 29 096 30 528 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 18 17 number.. 497 482 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 7 8 number.. (D) 1 027 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 4 4 number.. 39 39 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 19 20 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 1 0 acres.. (D) 0 bushels.. (D) 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Sugarcane for sugar...........farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 tons.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 29 35 acres.. 4 409 2 464 tons, dry.. 16 771 5 515 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 18 26 acres.. 2 147 3 549 Land in orchards..............farms.. 407 488 acres.. 81 785 55 466 @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.