1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 MC DOWELL COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 223 194 Land in farms ..................acres.. 20 680 21 218 Average size of farm .......acres.. 93 109 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 207 511 215 948 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 463 1 666 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 22 300 29 658 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 12 9 10 to 49 acres ...................... 86 64 50 to 179 acres ..................... 101 93 180 to 499 acres .................... 17 21 500 to 999 acres .................... 7 6 1,000 acres or more ................. 0 1 Total cropland .................farms.. 200 181 acres.. 9 157 8 366 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 179 156 acres.. 5 402 4 254 Irrigated land .................farms.. 13 14 acres.. 532 225 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 13 473 8 673 Average per farm .........dollars.. 60 418 44 707 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 8 308 5 214 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 5 165 3 459 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 86 80 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 51 27 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 29 27 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 21 20 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 8 12 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 10 11 $100,000 or more .................... 18 17 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 9 218 6 335 Average per farm .........dollars.. 40 969 32 655 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 90 86 Other ............................... 133 108 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 141 109 200 days or more ................... 94 83 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 126 112 number.. 3 459 3 295 Beef cows ..................farms.. 108 93 number.. 1 531 1 039 Milk cows ..................farms.. 7 12 number.. 434 526 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 115 97 number.. 1 321 1 093 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 9 15 number.. 114 432 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 7 9 number.. 220 1 210 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 0 2 number.. 0 (D) Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 14 10 number.. 147 751 38 098 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 7 5 number.. 765 280 956 000 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 33 33 acres.. 480 857 bushels.. 43 776 80 328 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 5 5 acres.. 11 14 pounds.. 11 250 25 200 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 5 7 acres.. 80 331 bushels.. (D) 13 148 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 127 107 acres.. 3 028 2 048 tons, dry.. 6 446 3 758 @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.