1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 WILKES COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 1 170 1 139 Land in farms ..................acres.. 127 428 115 106 Average size of farm .......acres.. 109 101 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 258 168 197 530 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 178 1 801 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 31 456 26 816 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 94 102 10 to 49 acres ...................... 440 427 50 to 179 acres ..................... 469 459 180 to 499 acres .................... 140 124 500 to 999 acres .................... 17 20 1,000 acres or more ................. 10 7 Total cropland .................farms.. 1 005 961 acres.. 58 837 51 523 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 787 785 acres.. 30 395 23 214 Irrigated land .................farms.. 27 17 acres.. 374 87 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 214 889 156 851 Average per farm .........dollars.. 183 665 137 709 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 8 805 5 855 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 206 083 150 996 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 340 314 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 177 167 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 135 125 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 100 97 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 57 43 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 29 70 $100,000 or more .................... 332 323 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 171 196 126 342 Average per farm .........dollars.. 146 321 110 826 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 561 576 Other ............................... 609 563 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 599 571 200 days or more ................... 490 434 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 790 795 number.. 33 163 31 738 Beef cows ..................farms.. 690 686 number.. 16 937 15 442 Milk cows ..................farms.. 31 43 number.. 1 375 1 646 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 782 761 number.. 15 757 13 857 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 9 26 number.. 112 523 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 5 15 number.. 63 2 102 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 4 8 number.. (D) 140 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 88 96 number.. 1 061 046 1 317 717 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 272 298 number.. 89 648 301 81 219 669 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 89 129 acres.. 2 685 2 360 bushels.. 233 814 216 081 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 11 16 acres.. 269 300 bushels.. 12 078 9 560 Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 32 47 acres.. 1 111 758 pounds.. 2 374 320 1 551 545 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 15 15 acres.. 549 380 bushels.. 14 582 9 953 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 707 675 acres.. 19 589 14 702 tons, dry.. 48 877 35 096 @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.