1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 DORCHESTER COUNTY, MARYLAND Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 297 347 Land in farms ..................acres.. 122 928 123 762 Average size of farm .......acres.. 414 357 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 862 174 692 153 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 018 1 883 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 102 038 83 346 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 25 39 10 to 49 acres ...................... 54 69 50 to 179 acres ..................... 82 87 180 to 499 acres .................... 53 64 500 to 999 acres .................... 49 59 1,000 acres or more ................. 34 29 Total cropland .................farms.. 264 297 acres.. 99 269 100 255 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 252 285 acres.. 95 190 94 671 Irrigated land .................farms.. 70 71 acres.. 15 101 10 718 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 82 391 64 089 Average per farm .........dollars.. 277 411 184 694 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 34 488 26 129 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 47 903 37 960 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 16 26 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 18 26 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 27 25 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 31 44 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 25 44 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 28 37 $100,000 or more .................... 152 145 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 69 980 49 541 Average per farm .........dollars.. 234 833 143 182 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 188 214 Other ............................... 109 133 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 131 163 200 days or more ................... 80 105 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 23 31 number.. 651 979 Beef cows ..................farms.. 19 23 number.. (D) (D) Milk cows ..................farms.. 2 5 number.. (D) (D) Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 20 25 number.. 233 270 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 10 11 number.. 2 529 15 591 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 8 11 number.. 6 619 35 434 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 1 3 number.. (D) 31 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 7 14 number.. 220 460 (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 71 79 number.. 19 794 937 19 672 412 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 122 135 acres.. 19 014 18 827 bushels.. 2 547 349 2 706 319 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 132 147 acres.. 18 185 19 962 bushels.. 1 180 237 1 166 314 Barley for grain..............farms.. 61 75 acres.. 5 564 9 622 bushels.. 404 462 647 658 Tobacco ......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 197 230 acres.. 57 877 62 006 bushels.. 1 917 424 2 079 873 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 21 34 acres.. 379 808 tons, dry.. 1 415 1 954 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 73 58 acres.. 8 148 5 837 @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.