1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 IREDELL COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 1 189 1 143 Land in farms ..................acres.. 156 748 148 135 Average size of farm .......acres.. 132 130 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 376 292 281 314 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 553 2 199 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 37 769 30 970 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 84 93 10 to 49 acres ...................... 385 340 50 to 179 acres ..................... 502 496 180 to 499 acres .................... 157 162 500 to 999 acres .................... 45 38 1,000 acres or more ................. 16 14 Total cropland .................farms.. 1 038 999 acres.. 98 410 93 292 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 884 850 acres.. 58 989 52 907 Irrigated land .................farms.. 41 36 acres.. 754 719 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 99 614 63 611 Average per farm .........dollars.. 83 780 55 653 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 9 598 6 904 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 90 016 56 707 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 371 361 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 201 172 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 182 185 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 125 113 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 89 67 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 53 100 $100,000 or more .................... 168 145 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 69 091 54 197 Average per farm .........dollars.. 58 108 47 417 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 548 564 Other ............................... 641 579 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 652 609 200 days or more ................... 487 431 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 839 832 number.. 51 129 48 510 Beef cows ..................farms.. 705 664 number.. 17 832 15 301 Milk cows ..................farms.. 95 127 number.. 11 399 11 642 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 809 767 number.. 20 361 17 348 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 16 23 number.. (D) 3 102 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 10 13 number.. (D) 6 960 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 22 10 number.. 263 334 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 142 146 number.. 1 644 541 1 696 248 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 10 7 number.. 1 589 315 872 900 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 99 120 acres.. 5 727 5 493 bushels.. 488 767 475 657 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 86 86 acres.. 5 345 4 440 bushels.. 307 606 202 792 Cotton .......................farms.. 2 0 acres.. (D) 0 bales.. (D) 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 43 67 acres.. 576 698 pounds.. 1 231 660 1 198 904 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 113 82 acres.. 9 185 5 672 bushels.. 285 144 131 672 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 786 724 acres.. 30 090 26 867 tons, dry.. 68 213 56 899 @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.