1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 485 433 Land in farms ..................acres.. 72 515 67 491 Average size of farm .......acres.. 150 156 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 445 793 449 587 Average per acre .........dollars.. 3 226 2 658 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 46 041 39 919 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 34 27 10 to 49 acres ...................... 124 107 50 to 179 acres ..................... 199 186 180 to 499 acres .................... 99 85 500 to 999 acres .................... 24 22 1,000 acres or more ................. 5 6 Total cropland .................farms.. 439 400 acres.. 40 949 38 067 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 373 350 acres.. 22 518 20 435 Irrigated land .................farms.. 73 62 acres.. 1 283 955 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 25 835 33 710 Average per farm .........dollars.. 53 268 77 852 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 12 043 8 430 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 13 792 25 280 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 155 138 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 71 54 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 67 58 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 60 58 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 38 31 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 34 33 $100,000 or more .................... 60 61 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 17 937 26 471 Average per farm .........dollars.. 36 984 61 275 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 243 224 Other ............................... 242 209 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 261 225 200 days or more ................... 172 148 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 247 251 number.. 15 300 14 275 Beef cows ..................farms.. 211 190 number.. 6 130 4 362 Milk cows ..................farms.. 29 36 number.. 2 483 3 415 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 231 234 number.. 6 724 6 394 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 15 19 number.. 18 323 (D) Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 11 18 number.. 29 350 151 297 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 16 15 number.. 718 536 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 19 21 number.. 106 249 (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 40 52 acres.. 1 892 2 164 bushels.. 113 779 203 151 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 50 78 acres.. 2 136 3 366 bushels.. 96 504 127 044 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 83 95 acres.. 1 891 1 649 pounds.. 4 062 472 3 567 857 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 40 26 acres.. 2 790 2 103 bushels.. 60 031 45 163 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 300 258 acres.. 12 280 9 100 tons, dry.. 21 560 16 154 @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.