1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 BENTON COUNTY, MINNESOTA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 834 865 Land in farms ..................acres.. 176 330 183 760 Average size of farm .......acres.. 211 212 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 211 857 164 265 Average per acre .........dollars.. 986 811 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 71 456 54 301 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 25 25 10 to 49 acres ...................... 158 129 50 to 179 acres ..................... 307 333 180 to 499 acres .................... 279 311 500 to 999 acres .................... 48 49 1,000 acres or more ................. 17 18 Total cropland .................farms.. 770 804 acres.. 131 129 136 938 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 715 767 acres.. 113 719 106 673 Irrigated land .................farms.. 37 44 acres.. 11 458 8 815 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 89 610 77 942 Average per farm .........dollars.. 107 446 90 107 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 19 505 10 289 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 70 105 67 654 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 141 126 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 91 70 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 104 115 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 121 144 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 102 121 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 97 111 $100,000 or more .................... 178 178 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 65 342 59 436 Average per farm .........dollars.. 78 442 68 712 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 449 534 Other ............................... 385 331 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 462 409 200 days or more ................... 321 308 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 519 561 number.. 36 711 39 428 Beef cows ..................farms.. 242 195 number.. 4 112 3 568 Milk cows ..................farms.. 209 285 number.. 13 025 14 121 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 499 540 number.. 18 622 14 956 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 83 177 number.. 29 030 29 441 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 84 179 number.. 53 719 70 057 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 16 19 number.. 515 606 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 32 33 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 32 34 number.. 5 158 371 6 001 812 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 483 531 acres.. 50 697 45 902 bushels.. 5 453 824 3 805 651 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 21 16 acres.. 823 454 bushels.. 21 274 15 849 Barley for grain..............farms.. 37 29 acres.. 1 001 615 bushels.. 39 822 22 230 Oats for grain................farms.. 147 256 acres.. 3 410 6 624 bushels.. 146 375 358 724 Sunflower seed................farms.. 4 0 acres.. 84 0 pounds.. 60 392 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 172 158 acres.. 16 856 10 665 bushels.. 579 905 232 999 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 553 573 acres.. 31 036 27 891 tons, dry.. 73 626 65 769 @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.