1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 396 357 Land in farms ..................acres.. 25 547 25 470 Average size of farm .......acres.. 65 71 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 526 583 781 091 Average per acre .........dollars.. 8 602 12 721 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 54 306 38 328 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 103 83 10 to 49 acres ...................... 153 153 50 to 179 acres ..................... 104 83 180 to 499 acres .................... 32 30 500 to 999 acres .................... 3 7 1,000 acres or more ................. 1 1 Total cropland .................farms.. 357 316 acres.. 12 427 14 304 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 326 285 acres.. 10 031 10 257 Irrigated land .................farms.. 116 98 acres.. 1 234 933 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 25 091 17 769 Average per farm .........dollars.. 63 361 49 774 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 19 869 13 955 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 5 222 3 814 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 119 116 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 44 38 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 54 36 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 45 58 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 38 31 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 41 39 $100,000 or more .................... 55 39 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 16 144 13 696 Average per farm .........dollars.. 40 872 38 258 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 202 208 Other ............................... 194 149 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 206 159 200 days or more ................... 134 95 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 68 63 number.. 2 767 2 643 Beef cows ..................farms.. 46 39 number.. 553 398 Milk cows ..................farms.. 16 20 number.. 948 1 096 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 52 54 number.. 1 308 880 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 24 24 number.. 278 459 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 12 13 number.. 346 (D) Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 34 36 number.. 390 636 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 43 31 number.. (D) 6 924 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 5 2 number.. 305 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 10 3 acres.. 116 (D) bushels.. 10 615 (D) Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 12 21 acres.. 606 1 193 tons, green.. 10 089 21 965 Potatoes, excl. sweetpotatoes.farms.. 6 5 acres.. 4 9 cwt.. 422 1 676 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 154 136 acres.. 6 982 6 641 tons, dry.. 12 031 12 426 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 91 95 acres.. 1 362 1 845 Land in orchards..............farms.. 26 41 acres.. 369 369 @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.