1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 MERIWETHER COUNTY, GEORGIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 257 268 Land in farms ..................acres.. 68 856 68 729 Average size of farm .......acres.. 268 256 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 370 312 312 913 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 270 1 373 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 27 504 19 799 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 12 8 10 to 49 acres ...................... 52 56 50 to 179 acres ..................... 91 100 180 to 499 acres .................... 67 71 500 to 999 acres .................... 21 20 1,000 acres or more ................. 14 13 Total cropland .................farms.. 205 220 acres.. 21 893 25 796 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 147 153 acres.. 8 507 8 051 Irrigated land .................farms.. 12 7 acres.. 597 32 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 6 386 4 608 Average per farm .........dollars.. 24 848 17 195 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 2 089 609 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 4 297 4 000 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 97 99 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 33 56 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 51 46 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 39 29 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 21 14 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 5 13 $100,000 or more .................... 11 11 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 5 812 4 814 Average per farm .........dollars.. 22 441 17 962 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 102 114 Other ............................... 155 154 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 144 141 200 days or more ................... 107 104 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 172 205 number.. 12 808 13 157 Beef cows ..................farms.. 157 187 number.. 7 633 7 678 Milk cows ..................farms.. 6 9 number.. 196 689 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 164 194 number.. 6 917 5 838 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 1 6 number.. (D) (D) Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 1 4 number.. (D) (D) Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 6 2 number.. 170 (D) Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 6 12 number.. 138 221 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 3 12 acres.. 261 172 bushels.. 17 600 7 550 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 8 13 acres.. 652 1 175 bushels.. 21 710 53 800 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 1 4 acres.. (D) 355 bushels.. (D) 6 465 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 125 122 acres.. 7 203 5 403 tons, dry.. 16 085 13 328 @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.