1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 HOWARD COUNTY, MISSOURI Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 709 687 Land in farms ..................acres.. 242 364 238 909 Average size of farm .......acres.. 342 348 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 353 724 254 501 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 046 723 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 36 809 42 180 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 23 31 10 to 49 acres ...................... 71 89 50 to 179 acres ..................... 247 209 180 to 499 acres .................... 239 217 500 to 999 acres .................... 78 88 1,000 acres or more ................. 51 53 Total cropland .................farms.. 659 640 acres.. 158 770 169 317 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 563 586 acres.. 104 701 104 282 Irrigated land .................farms.. 10 13 acres.. 2 674 2 068 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 31 428 27 927 Average per farm .........dollars.. 44 328 40 651 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 20 164 16 496 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 11 264 11 431 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 159 122 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 77 79 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 116 103 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 128 138 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 78 105 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 71 60 $100,000 or more .................... 80 80 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 25 458 22 536 Average per farm .........dollars.. 35 958 32 803 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 316 357 Other ............................... 393 330 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 407 368 200 days or more ................... 299 264 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 414 407 number.. 30 097 26 014 Beef cows ..................farms.. 364 362 number.. 13 894 12 680 Milk cows ..................farms.. 11 13 number.. 286 203 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 406 410 number.. 18 814 14 716 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 40 113 number.. 10 563 22 298 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 40 114 number.. 22 687 39 494 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 15 20 number.. 876 923 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 24 29 number.. (D) 682 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 2 0 number.. (D) 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 227 262 acres.. 31 814 31 048 bushels.. 3 310 535 3 833 796 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 20 21 acres.. 854 656 tons, green.. 9 005 8 530 Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 7 11 acres.. 575 811 bushels.. 59 500 67 160 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 172 204 acres.. 14 048 15 943 bushels.. 686 954 665 858 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 263 283 acres.. 37 230 35 056 bushels.. 1 356 169 1 260 315 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 387 376 acres.. 22 706 23 235 tons, dry.. 43 279 40 832 @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.