1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 ASHE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 1 043 1 033 Land in farms ..................acres.. 104 922 104 426 Average size of farm .......acres.. 101 101 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 238 020 141 806 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 213 1 468 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 27 500 14 571 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 120 126 10 to 49 acres ...................... 388 348 50 to 179 acres ..................... 392 404 180 to 499 acres .................... 112 126 500 to 999 acres .................... 23 26 1,000 acres or more ................. 8 3 Total cropland .................farms.. 979 986 acres.. 46 699 47 741 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 897 898 acres.. 17 036 12 308 Irrigated land .................farms.. 39 17 acres.. 110 113 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 22 160 11 172 Average per farm .........dollars.. 21 246 10 815 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 16 593 4 148 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 5 567 7 024 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 289 280 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 180 250 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 223 201 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 209 201 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 92 63 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 22 29 $100,000 or more .................... 28 9 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 13 651 7 783 Average per farm .........dollars.. 13 088 7 542 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 425 460 Other ............................... 618 573 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 611 551 200 days or more ................... 419 366 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 579 652 number.. 19 081 21 714 Beef cows ..................farms.. 448 517 number.. 8 313 9 076 Milk cows ..................farms.. 20 42 number.. 264 577 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 568 636 number.. 10 960 12 456 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 14 14 number.. 281 309 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 6 5 number.. 460 795 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 19 14 number.. 892 684 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 24 32 number.. 380 457 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 1 number.. 0 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 2 16 acres.. (D) 35 bushels.. (D) 1 569 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 1 0 acres.. (D) 0 bushels.. (D) 0 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 331 580 acres.. 871 1 226 pounds.. 1 199 585 1 958 113 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 0 1 acres.. 0 (D) bushels.. 0 (D) Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 1 0 acres.. (D) 0 pounds.. (D) 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 510 580 acres.. 9 314 10 007 tons, dry.. 18 505 19 106 @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.