1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 HOWARD COUNTY, IOWA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 862 881 Land in farms ..................acres.. 269 750 260 781 Average size of farm .......acres.. 313 296 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 431 916 303 698 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 414 1 003 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 73 737 72 010 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 39 68 10 to 49 acres ...................... 100 92 50 to 179 acres ..................... 284 229 180 to 499 acres .................... 290 355 500 to 999 acres .................... 103 97 1,000 acres or more ................. 46 40 Total cropland .................farms.. 788 798 acres.. 241 042 233 274 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 708 761 acres.. 216 902 198 178 Irrigated land .................farms.. 2 5 acres.. (D) 172 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 95 130 73 822 Average per farm .........dollars.. 110 359 83 794 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 54 982 32 918 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 40 148 40 904 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 130 51 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 43 46 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 38 69 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 84 149 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 142 150 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 149 169 $100,000 or more .................... 276 247 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 67 827 62 502 Average per farm .........dollars.. 78 595 70 864 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 578 654 Other ............................... 284 227 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 388 355 200 days or more ................... 243 215 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 381 398 number.. 30 651 34 047 Beef cows ..................farms.. 174 180 number.. 5 118 6 397 Milk cows ..................farms.. 105 125 number.. 4 561 5 148 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 384 407 number.. 18 262 19 353 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 187 340 number.. 98 979 103 793 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 195 358 number.. 178 278 195 012 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 26 37 number.. 1 111 1 744 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 31 24 number.. 1 492 4 297 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 5 5 number.. 325 900 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 606 676 acres.. 105 511 110 243 bushels.. 14 286 924 12 841 876 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 165 162 acres.. 4 216 4 153 tons, green.. 68 763 57 293 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 5 3 acres.. 206 (D) bushels.. 10 735 (D) Oats for grain................farms.. 165 243 acres.. 3 137 5 158 bushels.. 215 038 316 453 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 557 544 acres.. 92 922 66 955 bushels.. 4 004 292 2 223 899 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 355 405 acres.. 13 389 14 833 tons, dry.. 36 346 42 997 @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.