1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 MECKLENBURG COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 295 280 Land in farms ..................acres.. 29 015 27 901 Average size of farm .......acres.. 98 100 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 603 586 543 395 Average per acre .........dollars.. 5 456 5 752 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 66 666 73 916 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 26 28 10 to 49 acres ...................... 115 85 50 to 179 acres ..................... 106 133 180 to 499 acres .................... 41 25 500 to 999 acres .................... 7 8 1,000 acres or more ................. 0 1 Total cropland .................farms.. 250 249 acres.. 15 936 17 518 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 205 210 acres.. 9 053 10 448 Irrigated land .................farms.. 30 29 acres.. 440 364 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 43 002 35 112 Average per farm .........dollars.. 145 769 125 400 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 34 134 30 962 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 8 867 4 150 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 111 100 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 56 62 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 43 52 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 43 34 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 9 6 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 12 6 $100,000 or more .................... 21 20 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 32 002 28 337 Average per farm .........dollars.. 108 481 101 205 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 133 132 Other ............................... 162 148 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 153 148 200 days or more ................... 110 105 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 172 185 number.. 10 052 7 507 Beef cows ..................farms.. 148 156 number.. 2 984 2 762 Milk cows ..................farms.. 10 15 number.. 2 489 1 253 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 169 180 number.. 4 938 3 320 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 4 7 number.. 26 129 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 3 6 number.. (D) (D) Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 6 11 number.. 91 130 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 10 8 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 2 number.. 0 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 10 10 acres.. 322 447 bushels.. 26 041 20 774 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 20 23 acres.. 1 688 1 039 bushels.. 80 889 46 932 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 1 0 acres.. (D) 0 pounds.. (D) 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 21 7 acres.. 1 187 545 bushels.. 26 488 10 000 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 161 172 acres.. 5 060 5 515 tons, dry.. 9 178 10 070 @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.