1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 BENSON COUNTY, NORTH DAKOTA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 604 635 Land in farms ..................acres.. 758 199 777 675 Average size of farm .......acres.. 1 255 1 225 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 412 178 417 121 Average per acre .........dollars.. 320 327 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 116 097 90 254 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 8 8 10 to 49 acres ...................... 20 22 50 to 179 acres ..................... 75 51 180 to 499 acres .................... 113 105 500 to 999 acres .................... 103 144 1,000 acres or more ................. 285 305 Total cropland .................farms.. 557 604 acres.. 610 095 632 548 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 515 588 acres.. 478 033 459 506 Irrigated land .................farms.. 6 9 acres.. 1 640 1 922 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 49 972 47 536 Average per farm .........dollars.. 82 735 74 860 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 39 217 36 792 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 10 755 10 744 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 55 39 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 30 24 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 43 46 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 80 109 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 103 105 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 123 136 $100,000 or more .................... 170 176 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 46 331 39 872 Average per farm .........dollars.. 76 706 62 790 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 458 511 Other ............................... 146 124 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 259 219 200 days or more ................... 111 100 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 295 300 number.. 32 522 28 209 Beef cows ..................farms.. 273 262 number.. 16 356 14 585 Milk cows ..................farms.. 15 23 number.. 587 814 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 299 292 number.. 18 699 14 485 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 16 25 number.. 1 062 3 649 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 15 25 number.. 1 359 5 278 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 20 35 number.. 1 559 3 595 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 6 8 number.. 104 313 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 2 number.. 0 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 43 30 acres.. 5 030 3 141 bushels.. 309 864 171 566 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 32 71 acres.. 2 203 5 608 tons, green.. 15 862 26 335 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 404 523 acres.. 237 435 285 575 bushels.. 5 186 076 9 253 323 Barley for grain..............farms.. 325 383 acres.. 88 934 72 959 bushels.. 3 624 870 3 535 494 Oats for grain................farms.. 110 132 acres.. 10 452 10 135 bushels.. 497 664 449 393 Sunflower seed................farms.. 212 213 acres.. 62 752 43 325 pounds.. 74 488 644 33 493 467 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 318 351 acres.. 53 686 51 433 tons, dry.. 71 864 62 483 @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.