1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 VERMILION PARISH, LOUISIANA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 995 1 117 Land in farms ..................acres.. 328 565 316 691 Average size of farm .......acres.. 330 284 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 372 945 281 168 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 203 1 033 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 67 921 50 604 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 69 86 10 to 49 acres ...................... 269 300 50 to 179 acres ..................... 288 329 180 to 499 acres .................... 163 199 500 to 999 acres .................... 112 133 1,000 acres or more ................. 94 70 Total cropland .................farms.. 843 978 acres.. 256 064 252 673 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 639 746 acres.. 155 251 162 620 Irrigated land .................farms.. 427 508 acres.. 106 402 104 623 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 70 111 45 696 Average per farm .........dollars.. 70 464 40 910 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 63 678 39 956 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 6 433 5 740 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 291 305 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 119 147 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 126 157 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 106 158 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 83 102 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 82 109 $100,000 or more .................... 188 139 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 45 682 36 391 Average per farm .........dollars.. 45 774 32 579 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 591 668 Other ............................... 404 449 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 450 455 200 days or more ................... 249 253 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 604 631 number.. 34 855 31 497 Beef cows ..................farms.. 560 595 number.. 23 311 21 381 Milk cows ..................farms.. 32 29 number.. 308 248 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 567 582 number.. 17 537 14 555 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 10 16 number.. 63 69 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 4 6 number.. 157 185 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 38 52 number.. 503 604 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 35 77 number.. 701 2 421 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 5 16 acres.. 817 2 227 bushels.. 70 281 123 760 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 7 12 acres.. 602 1 560 bushels.. 17 885 40 842 Rice..........................farms.. 382 462 acres.. 102 255 96 906 cwt.. 4 521 191 4 163 692 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 98 217 acres.. 20 446 43 926 bushels.. 545 950 1 098 320 Sugarcane for sugar...........farms.. 77 58 acres.. 22 035 13 556 tons.. 622 968 316 947 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 207 223 acres.. 8 233 7 310 tons, dry.. 15 957 15 600 @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.