1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 1 182 1 312 Land in farms ..................acres.. 173 958 166 886 Average size of farm .......acres.. 147 127 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 282 701 186 559 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 913 1 461 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 62 587 46 073 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 113 121 10 to 49 acres ...................... 467 528 50 to 179 acres ..................... 378 445 180 to 499 acres .................... 156 148 500 to 999 acres .................... 42 45 1,000 acres or more ................. 26 25 Total cropland .................farms.. 1 120 1 283 acres.. 146 334 140 851 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 1 043 1 229 acres.. 126 637 114 707 Irrigated land .................farms.. 196 214 acres.. 10 625 9 803 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 81 376 68 223 Average per farm .........dollars.. 68 846 51 999 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 72 026 60 548 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 9 350 7 675 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 281 347 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 119 165 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 157 181 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 218 211 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 123 144 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 93 100 $100,000 or more .................... 191 164 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 63 106 59 168 Average per farm .........dollars.. 53 344 45 063 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 641 751 Other ............................... 541 561 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 581 638 200 days or more ................... 409 447 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 162 170 number.. 4 972 6 221 Beef cows ..................farms.. 91 91 number.. 1 130 1 084 Milk cows ..................farms.. 25 33 number.. 1 350 1 573 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 128 154 number.. 1 785 2 697 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 64 74 number.. 20 364 18 794 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 60 83 number.. 52 219 29 200 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 17 22 number.. 345 267 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 41 35 number.. 786 982 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 4 3 number.. (D) 366 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 291 352 acres.. 43 846 39 889 bushels.. 5 012 867 4 388 800 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 98 138 acres.. 4 945 6 450 bushels.. 250 823 250 899 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 303 350 acres.. 41 765 29 518 bushels.. 1 582 827 1 022 493 Dry beans, excl. dry limas....farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 cwt.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 241 243 acres.. 7 403 7 072 tons, dry.. 21 074 18 212 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 185 245 acres.. 5 903 6 420 Land in orchards..............farms.. 479 625 acres.. 19 768 24 300 @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.