1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 AVOYELLES PARISH, LOUISIANA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 827 953 Land in farms ..................acres.. 259 340 256 118 Average size of farm .......acres.. 314 269 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 405 524 252 799 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 387 1 064 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 56 216 38 560 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 46 64 10 to 49 acres ...................... 218 300 50 to 179 acres ..................... 281 280 180 to 499 acres .................... 134 160 500 to 999 acres .................... 73 87 1,000 acres or more ................. 75 62 Total cropland .................farms.. 744 869 acres.. 210 641 214 743 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 635 765 acres.. 176 202 179 180 Irrigated land .................farms.. 44 53 acres.. 11 930 12 489 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 61 085 49 880 Average per farm .........dollars.. 73 864 52 340 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 56 908 45 435 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 4 177 4 444 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 223 256 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 107 136 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 97 145 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 145 135 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 66 73 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 46 73 $100,000 or more .................... 143 135 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 40 034 35 820 Average per farm .........dollars.. 48 467 37 626 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 403 498 Other ............................... 424 455 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 450 486 200 days or more ................... 278 313 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 433 450 number.. 20 892 21 083 Beef cows ..................farms.. 401 408 number.. 13 582 12 230 Milk cows ..................farms.. 18 30 number.. 121 398 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 417 401 number.. 10 416 8 965 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 29 41 number.. 416 488 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 22 25 number.. 1 009 522 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 4 6 number.. 15 38 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 30 53 number.. 662 2 258 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 1 number.. 0 (D) Selected crops harvested: Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 57 144 acres.. 13 885 23 797 bushels.. 1 133 041 1 910 523 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 51 72 acres.. 5 985 11 851 bushels.. 253 748 476 800 Rice..........................farms.. 21 32 acres.. 8 603 11 206 cwt.. 404 694 601 541 Cotton .......................farms.. 52 69 acres.. 14 378 13 288 bales.. 22 930 19 615 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 309 361 acres.. 93 283 82 879 bushels.. 2 832 018 2 704 360 Sugarcane for sugar...........farms.. 22 23 acres.. 11 556 10 627 tons.. 354 966 343 868 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 278 284 acres.. 11 120 8 965 tons, dry.. 27 082 19 142 @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.