1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 BENTON COUNTY, MISSOURI Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 804 835 Land in farms ..................acres.. 232 412 239 298 Average size of farm .......acres.. 289 287 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 248 543 159 182 Average per acre .........dollars.. 918 568 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 38 736 27 814 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 10 21 10 to 49 acres ...................... 103 96 50 to 179 acres ..................... 275 294 180 to 499 acres .................... 295 306 500 to 999 acres .................... 88 82 1,000 acres or more ................. 33 36 Total cropland .................farms.. 706 707 acres.. 124 222 118 305 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 609 616 acres.. 70 029 67 254 Irrigated land .................farms.. 6 6 acres.. 211 275 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 30 667 27 984 Average per farm .........dollars.. 38 143 33 513 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 6 308 6 049 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 24 358 21 935 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 179 163 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 129 116 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 143 156 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 166 185 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 83 96 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 49 53 $100,000 or more .................... 55 66 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 25 626 22 815 Average per farm .........dollars.. 31 913 27 323 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 400 479 Other ............................... 404 356 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 437 407 200 days or more ................... 301 274 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 650 670 number.. 39 610 39 718 Beef cows ..................farms.. 567 580 number.. 20 133 19 234 Milk cows ..................farms.. 40 67 number.. 1 435 2 038 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 643 668 number.. 20 831 21 705 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 25 80 number.. 10 778 17 967 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 24 85 number.. 21 993 37 208 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 15 16 number.. 747 1 802 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 38 36 number.. (D) 1 305 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 5 2 number.. 3 572 900 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 90 100 acres.. 5 889 5 088 bushels.. 464 840 618 279 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 22 22 acres.. 979 592 tons, green.. 10 697 8 593 Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 45 98 acres.. 2 915 5 241 bushels.. 251 297 535 093 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 105 121 acres.. 5 984 7 463 bushels.. 289 585 337 161 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 136 139 acres.. 16 136 12 328 bushels.. 514 260 475 272 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 552 559 acres.. 38 860 37 373 tons, dry.. 69 103 62 064 @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.