1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 FERGUS COUNTY, MONTANA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 816 804 Land in farms ..................acres.. 2 248 705 2 232 575 Average size of farm .......acres.. 2 756 2 777 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 666 486 526 258 Average per acre .........dollars.. 259 187 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 81 905 67 601 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 15 32 10 to 49 acres ...................... 75 49 50 to 179 acres ..................... 84 58 180 to 499 acres .................... 94 103 500 to 999 acres .................... 94 81 1,000 acres or more ................. 454 481 Total cropland .................farms.. 690 684 acres.. 675 934 692 452 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 636 631 acres.. 408 354 350 321 Irrigated land .................farms.. 80 79 acres.. 16 136 11 150 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 71 841 59 560 Average per farm .........dollars.. 88 041 74 080 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 32 090 21 154 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 39 752 38 406 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 107 96 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 48 54 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 72 65 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 101 110 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 103 124 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 157 156 $100,000 or more .................... 228 199 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 52 404 47 282 Average per farm .........dollars.. 64 221 58 809 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 571 626 Other ............................... 245 178 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 334 266 200 days or more ................... 180 136 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 590 592 number.. 109 566 103 711 Beef cows ..................farms.. 567 546 number.. 70 312 63 742 Milk cows ..................farms.. 25 38 number.. 368 486 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 592 597 number.. 71 839 67 699 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 20 36 number.. 2 290 6 771 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 22 34 number.. 4 019 11 308 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 84 104 number.. 7 010 11 052 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 31 26 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 2 2 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 1 0 acres.. (D) 0 tons, green.. (D) 0 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 330 364 acres.. 189 671 160 337 bushels.. 7 084 714 4 685 820 Barley for grain..............farms.. 273 319 acres.. 75 936 86 869 bushels.. 3 637 154 2 644 686 Oats for grain................farms.. 57 62 acres.. 3 215 3 174 bushels.. 154 810 131 039 Sugar beets for sugar.........farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 tons.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 556 508 acres.. 146 401 107 741 tons, dry.. 229 744 133 893 @1Data are based on a sample of farms. Legend: - Represents zero (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.