1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 AVERY COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 429 274 Land in farms ..................acres.. 27 037 19 712 Average size of farm .......acres.. 63 72 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 201 317 176 730 Average per acre .........dollars.. 3 568 2 647 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 29 327 25 255 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 78 49 10 to 49 acres ...................... 175 94 50 to 179 acres ..................... 149 113 180 to 499 acres .................... 24 14 500 to 999 acres .................... 1 2 1,000 acres or more ................. 2 2 Total cropland .................farms.. 417 262 acres.. 14 377 8 063 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 400 248 acres.. 9 328 4 529 Irrigated land .................farms.. 47 22 acres.. 588 178 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 16 907 6 241 Average per farm .........dollars.. 39 411 22 776 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 16 592 5 734 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 315 507 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 103 72 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 66 45 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 59 56 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 89 58 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 42 28 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 31 6 $100,000 or more .................... 39 9 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 8 051 4 192 Average per farm .........dollars.. 18 679 15 354 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 181 138 Other ............................... 248 136 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 264 148 200 days or more ................... 179 93 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 80 77 number.. 1 490 1 500 Beef cows ..................farms.. 62 72 number.. (D) 786 Milk cows ..................farms.. 2 6 number.. (D) 24 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 71 75 number.. 731 682 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 4 7 number.. 26 24 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 1 0 number.. (D) 0 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 2 2 number.. (D) (D) Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 4 8 number.. (D) 246 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 1 1 acres.. (D) (D) bushels.. (D) (D) Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 52 67 acres.. 138 184 pounds.. 252 182 359 798 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 68 69 acres.. 1 213 1 415 tons, dry.. 1 566 1 811 @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.