1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 MERCER COUNTY, ILLINOIS Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 754 812 Land in farms ..................acres.. 309 591 312 128 Average size of farm .......acres.. 411 384 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 660 995 407 272 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 693 1 153 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 88 667 70 964 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 44 65 10 to 49 acres ...................... 121 107 50 to 179 acres ..................... 190 192 180 to 499 acres .................... 184 220 500 to 999 acres .................... 126 156 1,000 acres or more ................. 89 72 Total cropland .................farms.. 695 751 acres.. 261 174 267 518 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 637 716 acres.. 240 134 238 046 Irrigated land .................farms.. 20 22 acres.. 3 580 3 447 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 92 148 82 050 Average per farm .........dollars.. 122 212 101 047 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 70 192 55 473 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 21 956 26 577 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 132 101 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 46 50 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 56 49 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 86 113 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 78 99 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 100 117 $100,000 or more .................... 256 283 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 61 165 61 346 Average per farm .........dollars.. 81 229 75 642 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 467 551 Other ............................... 287 261 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 359 366 200 days or more ................... 223 225 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 325 351 number.. 19 050 21 225 Beef cows ..................farms.. 260 280 number.. 7 715 9 053 Milk cows ..................farms.. 5 8 number.. 38 366 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 307 339 number.. 11 729 13 948 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 128 220 number.. 71 138 104 014 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 136 235 number.. 127 634 176 776 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 50 55 number.. 2 960 1 708 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 21 19 number.. 579 499 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 1 1 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 509 590 acres.. 125 252 137 717 bushels.. 14 957 603 18 805 430 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 31 37 acres.. 957 799 tons, green.. 18 030 11 955 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 33 38 acres.. 1 274 1 003 bushels.. 67 217 38 312 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 476 545 acres.. 103 271 89 504 bushels.. 4 816 019 3 897 156 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 312 356 acres.. 9 753 11 357 tons, dry.. 29 979 36 448 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 13 8 acres.. 213 122 @1Data are based on a sample of farms. Legend: - Represents zero (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.