1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 RUTHERFORD COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 505 464 Land in farms ..................acres.. 61 147 55 309 Average size of farm .......acres.. 121 119 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 219 606 148 607 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 850 1 243 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 21 918 16 509 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 21 11 10 to 49 acres ...................... 143 130 50 to 179 acres ..................... 249 237 180 to 499 acres .................... 75 69 500 to 999 acres .................... 16 17 1,000 acres or more ................. 1 0 Total cropland .................farms.. 452 424 acres.. 30 268 26 784 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 375 349 acres.. 13 048 10 674 Irrigated land .................farms.. 12 15 acres.. 55 38 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 5 438 4 827 Average per farm .........dollars.. 10 768 10 402 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 1 291 1 027 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 4 147 3 800 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 221 213 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 110 107 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 74 69 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 71 43 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 15 19 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 5 3 $100,000 or more .................... 9 10 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 5 165 4 809 Average per farm .........dollars.. 10 228 10 364 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 176 163 Other ............................... 329 301 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 324 292 200 days or more ................... 229 205 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 338 333 number.. 12 802 11 485 Beef cows ..................farms.. 308 309 number.. 6 842 6 135 Milk cows ..................farms.. 14 12 number.. 479 399 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 330 317 number.. 5 666 4 588 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 10 10 number.. 79 731 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 3 6 number.. (D) 2 935 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 15 16 number.. 373 900 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 12 13 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 4 3 number.. 659 168 217 419 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 36 38 acres.. 633 697 bushels.. 49 952 50 716 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 11 12 acres.. 241 416 bushels.. 11 232 20 076 Cotton .......................farms.. 3 5 acres.. 341 310 bales.. 365 216 Tobacco ......................farms.. 9 6 acres.. 24 6 pounds.. 36 616 7 069 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 22 19 acres.. 705 511 bushels.. 15 226 8 807 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 315 285 acres.. 10 419 7 969 tons, dry.. 17 130 11 565 @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.