1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 MASON COUNTY, TEXAS Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 565 550 Land in farms ..................acres.. 595 265 547 428 Average size of farm .......acres.. 1 054 995 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 674 296 532 057 Average per acre .........dollars.. 709 580 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 25 376 28 016 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 27 27 10 to 49 acres ...................... 38 24 50 to 179 acres ..................... 79 74 180 to 499 acres .................... 147 138 500 to 999 acres .................... 118 114 1,000 acres or more ................. 156 173 Total cropland .................farms.. 332 329 acres.. 65 222 64 246 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 200 195 acres.. 13 046 11 902 Irrigated land .................farms.. 72 78 acres.. 6 228 6 840 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 19 575 22 472 Average per farm .........dollars.. 34 647 40 858 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 4 104 6 414 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 15 471 16 058 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 124 101 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 77 60 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 107 92 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 120 125 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 60 78 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 38 43 $100,000 or more .................... 39 51 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 16 744 18 815 Average per farm .........dollars.. 29 635 34 210 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 286 313 Other ............................... 279 237 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 327 287 200 days or more ................... 218 177 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 511 480 number.. 49 698 40 948 Beef cows ..................farms.. 457 454 number.. 22 260 23 643 Milk cows ..................farms.. 6 8 number.. 25 14 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 505 484 number.. 28 733 29 425 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 8 12 number.. 229 649 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 8 11 number.. 351 1 594 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 47 73 number.. 5 664 12 702 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 12 20 number.. 194 (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 1 1 acres.. (D) (D) bushels.. (D) (D) Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 3 3 acres.. 65 135 bushels.. (D) 5 459 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 13 9 acres.. 532 344 bushels.. 17 177 7 440 Rice..........................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 cwt.. 0 0 Cotton .......................farms.. 1 0 acres.. (D) 0 bales.. (D) 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 1 0 acres.. (D) 0 bushels.. (D) 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 175 145 acres.. 8 155 5 205 tons, dry.. 15 772 9 049 @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.