1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 ALEXANDER COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 565 507 Land in farms ..................acres.. 59 826 52 974 Average size of farm .......acres.. 106 104 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 218 443 162 949 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 322 1 802 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 25 904 28 272 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 50 61 10 to 49 acres ...................... 187 164 50 to 179 acres ..................... 247 213 180 to 499 acres .................... 65 57 500 to 999 acres .................... 12 8 1,000 acres or more ................. 4 4 Total cropland .................farms.. 486 419 acres.. 34 730 29 654 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 401 342 acres.. 17 413 14 940 Irrigated land .................farms.. 8 6 acres.. 201 178 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 46 791 35 216 Average per farm .........dollars.. 82 817 69 460 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 4 642 3 057 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 42 149 32 159 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 165 140 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 83 68 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 69 59 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 53 51 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 43 45 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 39 55 $100,000 or more .................... 113 89 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 34 225 30 335 Average per farm .........dollars.. 60 575 59 832 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 274 261 Other ............................... 291 246 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 311 267 200 days or more ................... 221 188 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 399 377 number.. 20 408 18 765 Beef cows ..................farms.. 348 317 number.. 8 573 6 762 Milk cows ..................farms.. 33 34 number.. 3 252 3 179 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 381 344 number.. 6 692 7 776 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 4 6 number.. (D) (D) Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 3 6 number.. (D) (D) Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 4 8 number.. 47 66 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 91 99 number.. 1 165 625 1 101 190 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 42 45 number.. 11 373 400 10 144 195 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 39 52 acres.. 894 1 540 bushels.. 71 525 104 536 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 12 14 acres.. 681 569 bushels.. 36 470 20 386 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 38 43 acres.. 759 705 pounds.. 1 630 503 1 214 391 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 15 15 acres.. 1 024 487 bushels.. 24 188 14 518 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 353 294 acres.. 11 791 8 588 tons, dry.. 26 063 21 502 @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.