1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 MERCER COUNTY, MISSOURI Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 539 485 Land in farms ..................acres.. 229 598 210 253 Average size of farm .......acres.. 426 434 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 351 149 230 190 Average per acre .........dollars.. 882 550 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 36 038 46 324 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 14 14 10 to 49 acres ...................... 51 40 50 to 179 acres ..................... 163 138 180 to 499 acres .................... 177 166 500 to 999 acres .................... 93 79 1,000 acres or more ................. 41 48 Total cropland .................farms.. 480 446 acres.. 158 660 141 767 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 375 390 acres.. 82 130 71 712 Irrigated land .................farms.. 5 1 acres.. (D) (D) Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 122 780 25 203 Average per farm .........dollars.. 227 791 51 965 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. (D) 8 359 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. (D) 16 844 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 141 89 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 76 49 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 76 84 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 96 98 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 78 76 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 41 43 $100,000 or more .................... 31 46 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 89 936 19 089 Average per farm .........dollars.. 167 168 39 358 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 247 284 Other ............................... 292 201 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 308 228 200 days or more ................... 232 146 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 335 324 number.. 26 850 24 918 Beef cows ..................farms.. 307 310 number.. 14 060 13 964 Milk cows ..................farms.. 11 19 number.. 247 226 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 336 332 number.. 15 436 14 777 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 21 49 number.. (D) (D) Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 18 47 number.. (D) 85 623 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 13 21 number.. 495 589 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 16 18 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 1 0 number.. (D) 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 125 180 acres.. 13 344 18 884 bushels.. 1 430 798 2 169 699 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 8 8 acres.. 236 160 tons, green.. 3 534 1 635 Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 8 10 acres.. 729 284 bushels.. 44 100 22 999 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 20 26 acres.. 1 170 1 911 bushels.. 40 913 65 362 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 169 193 acres.. 23 459 22 107 bushels.. 895 982 712 529 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 316 315 acres.. 43 726 30 775 tons, dry.. 82 817 62 199 @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.