1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 MASON COUNTY, MICHIGAN Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 413 402 Land in farms ..................acres.. 77 103 73 437 Average size of farm .......acres.. 187 183 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 244 920 182 482 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 127 988 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 49 514 43 607 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 17 12 10 to 49 acres ...................... 107 100 50 to 179 acres ..................... 160 161 180 to 499 acres .................... 93 96 500 to 999 acres .................... 27 24 1,000 acres or more ................. 9 9 Total cropland .................farms.. 389 393 acres.. 55 961 55 153 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 365 357 acres.. 44 358 39 587 Irrigated land .................farms.. 54 58 acres.. 3 251 3 354 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 23 621 20 373 Average per farm .........dollars.. 57 194 50 679 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 16 019 11 001 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 7 602 9 372 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 88 109 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 54 44 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 73 46 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 62 61 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 39 43 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 40 52 $100,000 or more .................... 57 47 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 20 715 17 411 Average per farm .........dollars.. 50 036 43 418 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 190 205 Other ............................... 223 197 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 252 244 200 days or more ................... 162 150 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 147 127 number.. 9 025 8 859 Beef cows ..................farms.. 63 55 number.. 693 811 Milk cows ..................farms.. 46 53 number.. 2 838 2 580 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 128 119 number.. 2 906 4 669 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 28 32 number.. 951 5 798 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 19 30 number.. 1 129 8 313 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 11 20 number.. 899 2 526 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 24 20 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 3 3 number.. (D) 90 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 123 113 acres.. 10 058 7 429 bushels.. 943 540 511 387 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 96 75 acres.. 4 284 2 820 bushels.. 222 836 110 011 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 22 14 acres.. 1 090 591 bushels.. 36 515 11 723 Dry beans, excl. dry limas....farms.. 2 5 acres.. (D) 232 cwt.. (D) 2 204 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 199 183 acres.. 12 975 13 146 tons, dry.. 27 507 26 731 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 81 85 acres.. 5 470 4 786 Land in orchards..............farms.. 51 62 acres.. 5 004 6 205 @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.