1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 674 673 Land in farms ..................acres.. 56 508 46 726 Average size of farm .......acres.. 84 69 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 259 563 147 169 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 854 2 225 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 24 037 17 184 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 125 139 10 to 49 acres ...................... 264 244 50 to 179 acres ..................... 220 231 180 to 499 acres .................... 51 53 500 to 999 acres .................... 8 3 1,000 acres or more ................. 6 3 Total cropland .................farms.. 636 646 acres.. 24 042 23 386 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 569 600 acres.. 8 336 6 087 Irrigated land .................farms.. 23 15 acres.. 60 55 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 11 641 7 557 Average per farm .........dollars.. 17 272 11 228 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 6 859 3 644 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 4 782 3 913 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 192 184 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 94 144 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 145 148 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 147 131 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 45 41 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 29 17 $100,000 or more .................... 22 8 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 6 140 5 447 Average per farm .........dollars.. 9 110 8 082 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 256 292 Other ............................... 418 381 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 405 386 200 days or more ................... 292 281 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 336 358 number.. 11 186 10 207 Beef cows ..................farms.. 240 260 number.. 4 126 4 066 Milk cows ..................farms.. 12 23 number.. 166 195 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 340 340 number.. 9 145 7 402 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 8 11 number.. 21 48 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 3 4 number.. (D) 115 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 12 14 number.. 207 302 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 18 21 number.. 358 (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 2 1 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 2 8 acres.. (D) 36 bushels.. (D) 1 575 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 0 1 acres.. 0 (D) bushels.. 0 (D) Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 237 416 acres.. 657 779 pounds.. 1 221 390 1 459 009 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 1 0 acres.. (D) 0 bushels.. (D) 0 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 300 310 acres.. 5 363 4 714 tons, dry.. 10 505 8 144 @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.