1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 855 924 Land in farms ..................acres.. 604 703 637 934 Average size of farm .......acres.. 707 690 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 2 397 652 2 417 525 Average per acre .........dollars.. 3 404 3 576 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 83 936 152 819 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 389 380 10 to 49 acres ...................... 261 302 50 to 179 acres ..................... 77 88 180 to 499 acres .................... 39 60 500 to 999 acres .................... 24 27 1,000 acres or more ................. 65 67 Total cropland .................farms.. 693 771 acres.. 529 138 578 699 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 628 699 acres.. 462 690 510 263 Irrigated land .................farms.. 535 566 acres.. 417 368 422 966 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 872 877 891 196 Average per farm .........dollars.. 1 020 908 964 497 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 868 894 884 066 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 3 983 7 130 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 174 201 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 52 73 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 81 57 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 93 98 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 82 95 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 83 72 $100,000 or more .................... 290 328 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 566 608 693 544 Average per farm .........dollars.. 661 926 750 588 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 487 555 Other ............................... 368 369 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 371 443 200 days or more ................... 228 254 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 108 134 number.. 3 771 7 267 Beef cows ..................farms.. 81 98 number.. 2 751 (D) Milk cows ..................farms.. 5 9 number.. 10 (D) Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 81 97 number.. 2 358 4 478 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 32 23 number.. 250 251 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 17 14 number.. 437 359 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 9 17 number.. 145 206 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 39 36 number.. 1 651 1 175 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 2 number.. 0 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 1 4 acres.. (D) 2 729 bushels.. (D) 121 368 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Sugarcane for sugar...........farms.. 84 95 acres.. 344 899 351 440 tons.. 12 911 773 13 410 532 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 7 12 acres.. 100 618 tons, dry.. 147 1 065 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 70 90 acres.. 58 002 84 624 Land in orchards..............farms.. 68 95 acres.. 13 392 19 749 @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.