1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 CHEROKEE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 243 220 Land in farms ..................acres.. 24 533 23 929 Average size of farm .......acres.. 101 109 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 241 072 208 459 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 687 1 839 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 27 017 35 733 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 17 18 10 to 49 acres ...................... 106 92 50 to 179 acres ..................... 89 77 180 to 499 acres .................... 22 24 500 to 999 acres .................... 7 7 1,000 acres or more ................. 2 2 Total cropland .................farms.. 221 201 acres.. 9 951 9 293 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 170 162 acres.. 4 137 4 627 Irrigated land .................farms.. 13 19 acres.. 181 86 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 12 611 10 972 Average per farm .........dollars.. 51 899 49 871 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 1 430 1 253 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 11 181 9 718 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 104 84 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 55 56 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 39 25 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 21 28 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 10 9 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 4 7 $100,000 or more .................... 10 11 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 10 135 10 871 Average per farm .........dollars.. 41 882 48 969 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 101 99 Other ............................... 142 121 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 133 111 200 days or more ................... 92 80 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 161 153 number.. 5 017 5 028 Beef cows ..................farms.. 138 134 number.. 2 432 2 429 Milk cows ..................farms.. 9 10 number.. 390 360 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 148 138 number.. 2 292 2 022 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 5 8 number.. 330 362 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 3 8 number.. 272 702 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 1 1 number.. (D) (D) Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 13 13 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 29 35 acres.. 618 958 bushels.. 56 434 93 388 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 1 0 acres.. (D) 0 bushels.. (D) 0 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 16 24 acres.. 81 70 pounds.. 107 516 130 791 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 1 1 acres.. (D) (D) bushels.. (D) (D) Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 119 111 acres.. 3 050 2 892 tons, dry.. 5 601 5 913 @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.