1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 293 219 Land in farms ..................acres.. 41 651 33 935 Average size of farm .......acres.. 142 155 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 367 020 459 296 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 234 2 528 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 44 812 42 581 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 40 24 10 to 49 acres ...................... 79 59 50 to 179 acres ..................... 96 80 180 to 499 acres .................... 61 43 500 to 999 acres .................... 14 10 1,000 acres or more ................. 3 3 Total cropland .................farms.. 243 195 acres.. 12 301 11 868 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 223 178 acres.. 9 801 9 235 Irrigated land .................farms.. 33 24 acres.. 165 85 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 27 534 18 431 Average per farm .........dollars.. 93 972 84 158 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 3 156 2 065 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 24 377 16 365 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 115 79 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 45 28 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 48 33 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 26 18 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 19 20 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 9 18 $100,000 or more .................... 31 23 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 19 146 12 289 Average per farm .........dollars.. 65 569 56 113 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 107 98 Other ............................... 186 121 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 188 125 200 days or more ................... 129 70 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 91 85 number.. 5 523 5 522 Beef cows ..................farms.. 43 44 number.. 268 263 Milk cows ..................farms.. 36 32 number.. 2 656 2 509 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 67 70 number.. 2 374 2 954 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 27 25 number.. 206 408 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 15 12 number.. 244 1 126 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 41 37 number.. 844 1 520 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 43 26 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 4 3 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 3 4 acres.. (D) 600 bushels.. (D) 66 600 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 22 28 acres.. 2 197 1 939 tons, green.. 46 066 37 455 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 143 132 acres.. 6 948 6 321 tons, dry.. 12 039 12 364 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 24 29 acres.. 203 249 Land in orchards..............farms.. 20 19 acres.. 168 143 @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.