1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 650 681 Land in farms ..................acres.. 192 165 192 467 Average size of farm .......acres.. 296 283 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 455 489 401 573 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 584 1 396 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 70 353 69 668 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 34 56 10 to 49 acres ...................... 111 103 50 to 179 acres ..................... 184 182 180 to 499 acres .................... 199 220 500 to 999 acres .................... 89 87 1,000 acres or more ................. 33 33 Total cropland .................farms.. 614 626 acres.. 155 783 161 555 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 556 602 acres.. 140 564 139 979 Irrigated land .................farms.. 14 16 acres.. 1 945 814 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 69 769 51 482 Average per farm .........dollars.. 107 337 75 598 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 43 430 33 616 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 26 339 17 866 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 109 75 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 51 52 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 56 70 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 75 101 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 84 118 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 88 103 $100,000 or more .................... 187 162 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 49 248 36 826 Average per farm .........dollars.. 75 534 54 156 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 348 401 Other ............................... 302 280 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 343 337 200 days or more ................... 241 231 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 255 270 number.. 15 343 15 434 Beef cows ..................farms.. 209 214 number.. 5 689 5 866 Milk cows ..................farms.. 11 14 number.. 520 812 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 242 264 number.. 10 851 9 534 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 70 126 number.. 125 030 53 151 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 72 142 number.. 213 190 118 195 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 28 57 number.. 590 2 777 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 11 13 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 3 0 number.. 200 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 422 491 acres.. 68 347 72 638 bushels.. 9 334 779 10 239 175 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 49 51 acres.. 911 1 223 tons, green.. 14 998 20 250 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 31 40 acres.. 574 1 112 bushels.. 30 653 51 010 Oats for grain................farms.. 33 49 acres.. 419 909 bushels.. 32 037 40 532 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 417 455 acres.. 65 171 58 167 bushels.. 3 156 027 2 572 017 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 239 304 acres.. 6 693 8 516 tons, dry.. 19 458 24 703 @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.