1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 UNION COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 1 142 1 037 Land in farms ..................acres.. 178 173 167 379 Average size of farm .......acres.. 156 161 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 427 785 352 937 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 790 2 130 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 45 311 36 960 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 83 72 10 to 49 acres ...................... 475 401 50 to 179 acres ..................... 386 355 180 to 499 acres .................... 133 135 500 to 999 acres .................... 39 44 1,000 acres or more ................. 26 30 Total cropland .................farms.. 915 845 acres.. 131 486 125 673 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 623 583 acres.. 102 320 98 608 Irrigated land .................farms.. 38 35 acres.. 208 370 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 283 564 240 859 Average per farm .........dollars.. 248 304 232 265 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 30 972 20 272 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 252 591 220 587 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 348 246 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 141 150 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 114 106 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 98 84 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 43 56 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 37 35 $100,000 or more .................... 361 360 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 232 550 204 532 Average per farm .........dollars.. 204 350 196 855 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 556 544 Other ............................... 586 493 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 567 500 200 days or more ................... 409 352 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 601 512 number.. 25 217 19 376 Beef cows ..................farms.. 544 467 number.. 14 416 10 479 Milk cows ..................farms.. 23 14 number.. 573 713 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 565 486 number.. 11 000 8 354 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 41 51 number.. 40 728 33 620 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 35 54 number.. 98 272 67 670 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 23 21 number.. 332 552 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 53 33 number.. 1 276 429 946 383 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 184 161 number.. 69 650 167 50 070 352 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 132 155 acres.. 24 706 22 931 bushels.. 2 567 745 1 762 709 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 148 184 acres.. 34 204 30 576 bushels.. 1 917 013 1 404 438 Cotton .......................farms.. 15 6 acres.. 7 798 1 032 bales.. 10 211 1 047 Tobacco ......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 198 254 acres.. 53 688 58 333 bushels.. 1 429 907 1 637 963 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 408 317 acres.. 11 220 8 135 tons, dry.. 26 526 18 130 @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.