1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 GRATIOT COUNTY, MICHIGAN Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 873 914 Land in farms ..................acres.. 276 833 277 400 Average size of farm .......acres.. 317 304 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 453 741 307 824 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 401 1 017 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 89 884 67 868 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 53 45 10 to 49 acres ...................... 174 143 50 to 179 acres ..................... 321 350 180 to 499 acres .................... 167 206 500 to 999 acres .................... 91 104 1,000 acres or more ................. 67 66 Total cropland .................farms.. 816 879 acres.. 244 531 248 232 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 715 849 acres.. 226 252 221 911 Irrigated land .................farms.. 28 39 acres.. 2 012 3 250 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 102 439 78 632 Average per farm .........dollars.. 117 342 86 031 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 65 499 50 683 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 36 940 27 949 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 186 108 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 68 76 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 97 121 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 142 193 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 95 103 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 67 105 $100,000 or more .................... 218 208 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 77 585 60 069 Average per farm .........dollars.. 88 871 65 721 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 479 542 Other ............................... 394 372 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 467 489 200 days or more ................... 328 341 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 270 280 number.. 25 575 22 557 Beef cows ..................farms.. 109 108 number.. 1 813 1 401 Milk cows ..................farms.. 64 84 number.. 7 220 7 568 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 248 273 number.. 18 058 12 440 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 42 84 number.. 19 325 16 671 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 42 95 number.. 49 318 37 607 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 20 18 number.. 411 364 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 28 23 number.. 111 654 (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 4 3 number.. 295 300 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 494 586 acres.. 76 573 77 436 bushels.. 9 491 547 8 613 615 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 228 356 acres.. 11 907 16 131 bushels.. 754 464 819 906 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 494 591 acres.. 77 248 63 812 bushels.. 2 947 133 1 966 680 Dry beans, excl. dry limas....farms.. 137 245 acres.. 20 712 25 583 cwt.. 311 063 355 538 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 260 281 acres.. 13 640 13 647 tons, dry.. 36 937 39 142 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 37 63 acres.. 4 522 4 755 Land in orchards..............farms.. 7 16 acres.. 173 246 @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.