1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 ERIE COUNTY, NEW YORK Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 973 995 Land in farms ..................acres.. 143 234 145 679 Average size of farm .......acres.. 147 146 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 249 147 244 149 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 698 1 705 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 57 942 62 616 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 84 97 10 to 49 acres ...................... 278 264 50 to 179 acres ..................... 381 390 180 to 499 acres .................... 177 188 500 to 999 acres .................... 39 43 1,000 acres or more ................. 14 13 Total cropland .................farms.. 905 939 acres.. 102 573 108 509 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 811 853 acres.. 76 232 73 247 Irrigated land .................farms.. 106 107 acres.. 2 024 2 292 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 77 830 70 907 Average per farm .........dollars.. 79 990 71 263 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 31 091 27 258 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 46 740 43 648 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 287 274 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 102 132 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 126 131 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 140 128 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 68 73 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 71 79 $100,000 or more .................... 179 178 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 65 126 61 592 Average per farm .........dollars.. 66 933 61 901 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 518 556 Other ............................... 455 439 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 481 461 200 days or more ................... 333 307 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 394 441 number.. 29 719 29 186 Beef cows ..................farms.. 150 162 number.. 1 477 1 341 Milk cows ..................farms.. 173 239 number.. 15 273 15 675 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 357 417 number.. 13 495 14 304 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 47 62 number.. 1 906 2 573 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 42 59 number.. 2 952 4 373 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 47 46 number.. 1 191 1 452 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 42 60 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 10 9 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 165 126 acres.. 10 917 7 658 bushels.. 1 118 979 657 715 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 194 250 acres.. 12 570 12 414 tons, green.. 197 361 151 450 Oats for grain................farms.. 96 112 acres.. 2 414 2 823 bushels.. 143 038 200 150 Potatoes, excl. sweetpotatoes.farms.. 23 28 acres.. 781 816 cwt.. 169 565 152 234 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 559 604 acres.. 42 649 42 261 tons, dry.. 92 552 87 364 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 98 115 acres.. 3 120 4 669 Land in orchards..............farms.. 65 78 acres.. 1 726 1 877 @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.