1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 BLAINE COUNTY, MONTANA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 541 514 Land in farms ..................acres.. 2 257 722 2 338 866 Average size of farm .......acres.. 4 173 4 550 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 731 066 760 395 Average per acre .........dollars.. 190 170 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 93 929 78 495 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 13 21 10 to 49 acres ...................... 21 19 50 to 179 acres ..................... 78 54 180 to 499 acres .................... 57 57 500 to 999 acres .................... 68 54 1,000 acres or more ................. 304 309 Total cropland .................farms.. 457 444 acres.. 659 890 586 725 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 396 391 acres.. 301 302 256 244 Irrigated land .................farms.. 220 175 acres.. 63 252 48 690 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 47 937 42 539 Average per farm .........dollars.. 88 609 82 760 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 25 545 19 762 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 22 393 22 776 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 83 60 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 31 34 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 48 27 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 72 85 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 69 75 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 94 99 $100,000 or more .................... 144 134 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 38 708 33 735 Average per farm .........dollars.. 71 418 65 504 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 405 409 Other ............................... 136 105 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 207 197 200 days or more ................... 98 95 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 343 327 number.. 72 556 71 797 Beef cows ..................farms.. 317 307 number.. 47 852 44 424 Milk cows ..................farms.. 7 19 number.. 54 76 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 339 326 number.. 42 883 42 376 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 17 28 number.. 4 655 5 100 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 16 31 number.. 7 662 8 257 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 48 65 number.. 7 476 13 529 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 9 16 number.. (D) 2 572 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 3 7 acres.. 108 270 tons, green.. (D) 4 476 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 219 239 acres.. 209 493 181 991 bushels.. 6 044 382 4 953 934 Barley for grain..............farms.. 88 143 acres.. 20 596 28 182 bushels.. 902 548 1 179 510 Oats for grain................farms.. 37 43 acres.. 1 997 2 567 bushels.. 102 329 110 362 Sugar beets for sugar.........farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 tons.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 300 249 acres.. 68 602 44 421 tons, dry.. 129 515 77 904 @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.