1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 LIBERTY COUNTY, MONTANA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 280 274 Land in farms ..................acres.. 915 451 951 780 Average size of farm .......acres.. 3 269 3 474 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 980 837 776 556 Average per acre .........dollars.. 298 222 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 168 794 141 140 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 0 5 10 to 49 acres ...................... 3 0 50 to 179 acres ..................... 9 7 180 to 499 acres .................... 20 13 500 to 999 acres .................... 27 26 1,000 acres or more ................. 221 223 Total cropland .................farms.. 271 258 acres.. 630 618 622 327 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 237 247 acres.. 308 498 286 085 Irrigated land .................farms.. 20 15 acres.. 8 255 6 786 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 38 479 30 759 Average per farm .........dollars.. 137 423 112 258 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 29 291 22 285 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 9 187 8 474 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 34 16 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 5 9 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 5 10 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 20 23 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 34 47 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 67 69 $100,000 or more .................... 115 100 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 33 012 26 579 Average per farm .........dollars.. 117 900 97 002 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 244 253 Other ............................... 36 21 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 70 72 200 days or more ................... 24 26 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 82 81 number.. 16 488 17 423 Beef cows ..................farms.. 79 77 number.. 10 565 10 738 Milk cows ..................farms.. 6 7 number.. 438 443 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 82 85 number.. 9 154 10 151 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 13 17 number.. 17 599 13 182 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 14 17 number.. 25 289 18 817 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 3 7 number.. (D) 707 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 4 6 number.. 46 678 (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 3 1 number.. 25 500 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 1 0 acres.. (D) 0 tons, green.. (D) 0 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 222 232 acres.. 265 044 254 163 bushels.. 7 447 622 6 026 122 Barley for grain..............farms.. 72 102 acres.. 26 487 24 556 bushels.. 996 791 862 127 Oats for grain................farms.. 9 5 acres.. 372 412 bushels.. 15 484 22 730 Sugar beets for sugar.........farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 tons.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 59 46 acres.. 11 954 8 035 tons, dry.. 18 984 11 715 @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.