1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 BELL COUNTY, TEXAS Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 1 741 1 622 Land in farms ..................acres.. 406 772 416 631 Average size of farm .......acres.. 234 257 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 304 056 270 441 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 102 988 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 29 835 25 732 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 129 116 10 to 49 acres ...................... 501 388 50 to 179 acres ..................... 631 602 180 to 499 acres .................... 291 328 500 to 999 acres .................... 108 103 1,000 acres or more ................. 81 85 Total cropland .................farms.. 1 360 1 331 acres.. 214 364 238 725 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 1 050 1 009 acres.. 138 928 145 288 Irrigated land .................farms.. 55 46 acres.. 1 062 491 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 51 485 34 082 Average per farm .........dollars.. 29 572 21 012 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 18 385 14 556 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 33 100 19 526 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 731 584 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 305 294 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 274 289 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 238 243 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 84 95 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 41 58 $100,000 or more .................... 68 59 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 42 752 31 898 Average per farm .........dollars.. 24 542 19 654 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 633 688 Other ............................... 1 108 934 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 1 130 971 200 days or more ................... 822 712 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 1 242 1 168 number.. 48 331 52 859 Beef cows ..................farms.. 1 090 1 056 number.. 25 313 27 969 Milk cows ..................farms.. 27 30 number.. 195 305 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 1 168 1 122 number.. 24 540 28 403 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 74 55 number.. 1 934 2 420 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 44 43 number.. 2 937 3 190 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 89 99 number.. 3 804 3 038 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 100 68 number.. 2 149 1 391 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 6 2 number.. 112 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 155 192 acres.. 53 022 50 222 bushels.. 4 421 377 3 257 705 Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 156 241 acres.. 25 083 39 377 bushels.. 1 406 371 1 690 313 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 189 192 acres.. 22 641 16 410 bushels.. 656 687 432 335 Rice..........................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 cwt.. 0 0 Cotton .......................farms.. 32 79 acres.. 3 611 9 489 bales.. 2 902 7 265 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 5 13 acres.. 483 687 bushels.. 8 216 12 348 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 838 722 acres.. 31 277 26 988 tons, dry.. 63 511 50 065 @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.