1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 CATAWBA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 596 507 Land in farms ..................acres.. 72 264 62 854 Average size of farm .......acres.. 121 124 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 335 757 316 974 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 809 2 295 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 31 630 26 270 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 38 27 10 to 49 acres ...................... 204 168 50 to 179 acres ..................... 250 214 180 to 499 acres .................... 82 80 500 to 999 acres .................... 17 13 1,000 acres or more ................. 5 5 Total cropland .................farms.. 547 473 acres.. 47 827 39 910 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 452 386 acres.. 25 836 20 385 Irrigated land .................farms.. 30 23 acres.. 584 330 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 24 396 14 579 Average per farm .........dollars.. 40 933 28 756 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 6 606 4 500 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 17 790 10 079 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 228 191 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 118 109 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 98 81 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 64 57 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 28 23 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 18 12 $100,000 or more .................... 42 34 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 16 179 12 034 Average per farm .........dollars.. 27 145 23 735 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 237 211 Other ............................... 359 296 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 350 295 200 days or more ................... 245 218 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 389 372 number.. 18 661 16 761 Beef cows ..................farms.. 351 329 number.. 9 170 7 204 Milk cows ..................farms.. 18 27 number.. 1 127 1 970 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 371 345 number.. 7 369 6 018 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 14 15 number.. 727 996 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 8 12 number.. 998 2 737 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 8 4 number.. 83 35 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 19 13 number.. 53 701 (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 15 6 number.. 2 960 560 1 185 524 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 48 61 acres.. 1 697 1 901 bushels.. 139 607 127 070 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 58 52 acres.. 5 418 2 925 bushels.. 277 237 119 452 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 1 acres.. 0 (D) bales.. 0 (D) Tobacco ......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 77 75 acres.. 6 781 4 596 bushels.. 138 797 100 478 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 1 3 acres.. (D) 3 pounds.. (D) (D) Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 374 307 acres.. 12 430 8 793 tons, dry.. 22 198 16 030 @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.