1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 THOMAS COUNTY, GEORGIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 421 465 Land in farms ..................acres.. 179 791 174 020 Average size of farm .......acres.. 427 374 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 661 865 398 321 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 560 1 092 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 58 518 36 590 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 28 35 10 to 49 acres ...................... 106 106 50 to 179 acres ..................... 123 137 180 to 499 acres .................... 76 98 500 to 999 acres .................... 44 49 1,000 acres or more ................. 44 40 Total cropland .................farms.. 359 435 acres.. 78 619 84 890 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 311 389 acres.. 66 078 61 912 Irrigated land .................farms.. 57 74 acres.. 4 836 6 553 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 37 646 29 265 Average per farm .........dollars.. 89 419 62 935 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 32 743 22 648 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 4 902 6 616 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 144 137 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 34 43 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 47 58 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 39 72 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 34 40 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 28 31 $100,000 or more .................... 95 84 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 27 310 24 122 Average per farm .........dollars.. 64 715 51 876 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 209 251 Other ............................... 212 214 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 191 222 200 days or more ................... 148 164 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 151 163 number.. 9 050 11 111 Beef cows ..................farms.. 132 142 number.. 5 001 5 299 Milk cows ..................farms.. 5 4 number.. 14 626 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 136 154 number.. 3 670 5 314 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 22 38 number.. 7 845 13 617 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 23 42 number.. 17 705 25 710 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 0 3 number.. 0 34 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 8 9 number.. 160 311 (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 1 0 number.. (D) 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 112 146 acres.. 14 157 20 219 bushels.. 1 351 662 1 688 901 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 12 30 acres.. 1 133 1 891 bushels.. 56 213 72 659 Cotton .......................farms.. 78 56 acres.. 33 409 14 063 bales.. 45 767 23 826 Tobacco ......................farms.. 22 22 acres.. 718 562 pounds.. 1 610 735 1 332 780 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 32 82 acres.. 3 214 10 241 bushels.. 71 537 306 973 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 95 117 acres.. 5 075 4 506 pounds.. 12 160 984 10 930 352 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 73 85 acres.. 2 262 2 946 tons, dry.. 8 509 9 635 @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.