1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 HOWARD COUNTY, TEXAS Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 436 366 Land in farms ..................acres.. 543 576 489 398 Average size of farm .......acres.. 1 247 1 337 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 480 417 380 608 Average per acre .........dollars.. 350 309 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 64 901 69 868 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 30 22 10 to 49 acres ...................... 57 47 50 to 179 acres ..................... 73 45 180 to 499 acres .................... 80 65 500 to 999 acres .................... 64 66 1,000 acres or more ................. 132 121 Total cropland .................farms.. 344 304 acres.. 201 989 186 842 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 238 239 acres.. 108 740 100 878 Irrigated land .................farms.. 47 40 acres.. 3 191 1 178 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 31 487 19 149 Average per farm .........dollars.. 72 217 52 320 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 21 848 15 585 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 9 639 3 564 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 160 87 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 32 39 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 34 42 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 56 44 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 27 37 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 41 53 $100,000 or more .................... 86 64 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 20 514 15 309 Average per farm .........dollars.. 47 050 41 714 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 219 226 Other ............................... 217 140 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 225 167 200 days or more ................... 151 101 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 177 145 number.. 18 419 10 554 Beef cows ..................farms.. 140 117 number.. 8 021 6 593 Milk cows ..................farms.. 5 6 number.. 60 40 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 172 145 number.. 18 411 7 677 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 15 11 number.. 238 169 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 13 6 number.. 187 160 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 10 20 number.. 537 4 553 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 9 16 number.. 116 347 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 1 number.. 0 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 2 40 acres.. (D) 27 931 bushels.. (D) 1 218 767 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 7 9 acres.. 1 989 840 bushels.. 63 950 24 653 Rice..........................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 cwt.. 0 0 Cotton .......................farms.. 183 160 acres.. 102 389 59 001 bales.. 73 643 53 529 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 59 72 acres.. 4 876 6 377 tons, dry.. 10 602 11 620 @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.