1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 980 935 Land in farms ..................acres.. 234 076 227 665 Average size of farm .......acres.. 239 243 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 304 986 248 478 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 352 1 001 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 62 585 64 487 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 47 53 10 to 49 acres ...................... 210 174 50 to 179 acres ..................... 421 355 180 to 499 acres .................... 185 230 500 to 999 acres .................... 68 91 1,000 acres or more ................. 49 32 Total cropland .................farms.. 906 892 acres.. 185 213 184 856 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 733 821 acres.. 160 318 155 388 Irrigated land .................farms.. 122 131 acres.. 30 563 26 506 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 77 249 66 203 Average per farm .........dollars.. 78 826 70 806 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 44 609 34 778 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 32 641 31 426 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 301 176 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 91 91 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 115 116 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 143 177 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 102 121 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 71 115 $100,000 or more .................... 157 139 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 60 307 55 298 Average per farm .........dollars.. 61 538 59 142 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 447 523 Other ............................... 533 412 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 567 511 200 days or more ................... 409 380 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 353 372 number.. 24 193 22 876 Beef cows ..................farms.. 182 186 number.. 2 406 2 598 Milk cows ..................farms.. 82 97 number.. 3 996 4 005 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 298 345 number.. 15 157 17 488 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 114 217 number.. 61 982 71 935 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 115 238 number.. 115 900 125 297 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 44 42 number.. 1 444 1 798 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 36 40 number.. 727 (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 4 5 number.. (D) 765 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 501 637 acres.. 83 638 88 542 bushels.. 9 823 560 10 169 971 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 192 251 acres.. 7 674 8 299 bushels.. 381 062 330 489 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 391 478 acres.. 52 500 39 046 bushels.. 2 126 596 1 371 423 Dry beans, excl. dry limas....farms.. 3 5 acres.. 215 303 cwt.. 2 700 5 670 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 387 381 acres.. 11 855 11 521 tons, dry.. 32 200 33 228 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 30 27 acres.. 1 305 1 078 Land in orchards..............farms.. 14 18 acres.. 193 372 @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.