1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 GASTON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 333 293 Land in farms ..................acres.. 34 860 34 717 Average size of farm .......acres.. 105 118 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 323 537 180 997 Average per acre .........dollars.. 3 207 1 787 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 26 265 26 201 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 23 30 10 to 49 acres ...................... 116 90 50 to 179 acres ..................... 139 119 180 to 499 acres .................... 49 41 500 to 999 acres .................... 5 11 1,000 acres or more ................. 1 2 Total cropland .................farms.. 301 262 acres.. 19 947 19 563 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 257 229 acres.. 10 660 11 103 Irrigated land .................farms.. 24 21 acres.. 197 57 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 9 947 7 510 Average per farm .........dollars.. 29 872 25 633 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 3 324 1 388 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 6 624 6 122 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 146 130 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 68 48 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 47 45 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 26 32 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 20 10 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 12 8 $100,000 or more .................... 14 20 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 6 759 6 086 Average per farm .........dollars.. 20 358 20 771 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 135 119 Other ............................... 198 174 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 195 161 200 days or more ................... 137 123 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 195 203 number.. 8 118 9 713 Beef cows ..................farms.. 165 165 number.. 3 157 2 996 Milk cows ..................farms.. 13 23 number.. 1 568 2 449 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 190 184 number.. 3 039 3 067 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 11 21 number.. 273 1 544 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 6 14 number.. 390 5 998 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 4 4 number.. 24 (D) Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 4 10 number.. (D) 401 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 6 0 number.. 1 405 000 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 18 23 acres.. 763 338 bushels.. 61 510 21 518 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 7 11 acres.. 582 377 bushels.. 30 357 14 435 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 1 acres.. 0 (D) bales.. 0 (D) Tobacco ......................farms.. 0 1 acres.. 0 (D) pounds.. 0 (D) Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 15 13 acres.. 1 585 637 bushels.. 34 410 13 317 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 3 0 acres.. 7 0 pounds.. 19 927 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 210 193 acres.. 6 798 6 353 tons, dry.. 12 443 12 333 @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.