1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 MATAGORDA COUNTY, TEXAS Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 768 738 Land in farms ..................acres.. 550 642 562 612 Average size of farm .......acres.. 717 762 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 493 846 456 832 Average per acre .........dollars.. 770 588 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 67 315 51 437 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 23 43 10 to 49 acres ...................... 162 125 50 to 179 acres ..................... 178 176 180 to 499 acres .................... 165 162 500 to 999 acres .................... 108 93 1,000 acres or more ................. 132 139 Total cropland .................farms.. 586 567 acres.. 240 290 225 372 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 429 464 acres.. 126 253 122 282 Irrigated land .................farms.. 146 172 acres.. 37 212 42 130 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 58 020 44 541 Average per farm .........dollars.. 75 547 60 353 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 42 424 32 093 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 15 596 12 448 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 226 177 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 110 96 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 92 91 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 100 123 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 47 64 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 48 49 $100,000 or more .................... 145 138 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 46 476 38 214 Average per farm .........dollars.. 60 515 51 710 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 372 401 Other ............................... 396 337 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 431 379 200 days or more ................... 295 237 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 541 480 number.. 63 317 58 906 Beef cows ..................farms.. 486 449 number.. 42 769 37 635 Milk cows ..................farms.. 7 10 number.. 20 19 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 532 462 number.. 31 414 29 603 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 10 19 number.. 91 294 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 2 10 number.. (D) 492 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 8 8 number.. 196 99 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 20 23 number.. 493 576 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 1 1 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 12 21 acres.. 1 959 5 809 bushels.. 172 033 457 229 Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 95 103 acres.. 40 814 38 297 bushels.. 2 645 205 2 448 157 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 3 2 acres.. 664 (D) bushels.. (D) (D) Rice..........................farms.. 96 140 acres.. 27 820 39 413 cwt.. 1 456 601 2 143 463 Cotton .......................farms.. 52 55 acres.. 22 252 15 510 bales.. 28 151 18 980 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 71 55 acres.. 16 670 9 970 bushels.. 402 757 265 302 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 215 191 acres.. 10 211 9 743 tons, dry.. 21 797 21 950 @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.