1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 PLYMOUTH COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 732 668 Land in farms ..................acres.. 73 418 72 247 Average size of farm .......acres.. 100 108 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 694 704 643 763 Average per acre .........dollars.. 6 654 6 289 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 60 545 60 495 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 188 153 10 to 49 acres ...................... 299 262 50 to 179 acres ..................... 165 168 180 to 499 acres .................... 58 64 500 to 999 acres .................... 11 9 1,000 acres or more ................. 11 12 Total cropland .................farms.. 677 626 acres.. 20 665 20 142 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 642 594 acres.. 17 573 16 578 Irrigated land .................farms.. 493 451 acres.. 12 182 10 893 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 122 687 95 756 Average per farm .........dollars.. 167 605 143 347 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 118 591 93 262 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 4 095 2 494 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 121 118 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 56 66 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 68 58 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 89 88 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 91 90 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 88 83 $100,000 or more .................... 219 165 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 73 867 61 881 Average per farm .........dollars.. 101 886 92 637 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 439 400 Other ............................... 293 268 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 365 351 200 days or more ................... 219 211 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 65 69 number.. 2 126 1 776 Beef cows ..................farms.. 34 39 number.. 265 374 Milk cows ..................farms.. 22 18 number.. 1 099 748 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 47 48 number.. 742 729 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 29 26 number.. 1 466 2 453 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 22 21 number.. 1 774 2 770 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 35 48 number.. 546 649 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 46 59 number.. 1 210 3 397 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 4 6 number.. 138 238 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 5 1 acres.. (D) (D) bushels.. (D) (D) Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 17 20 acres.. 1 737 1 369 tons, green.. 27 607 27 419 Potatoes, excl. sweetpotatoes.farms.. 5 10 acres.. 10 29 cwt.. 1 085 4 758 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 104 102 acres.. 3 465 3 700 tons, dry.. 7 260 6 521 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 56 60 acres.. 781 973 Land in orchards..............farms.. 20 41 acres.. 86 211 @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.