1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 NUECES COUNTY, TEXAS Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 569 541 Land in farms ..................acres.. 438 242 443 224 Average size of farm .......acres.. 770 819 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 672 594 712 475 Average per acre .........dollars.. 910 907 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 93 431 81 434 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 37 43 10 to 49 acres ...................... 136 87 50 to 179 acres ..................... 115 89 180 to 499 acres .................... 94 95 500 to 999 acres .................... 64 73 1,000 acres or more ................. 123 154 Total cropland .................farms.. 434 446 acres.. 350 756 348 145 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 360 378 acres.. 323 287 279 997 Irrigated land .................farms.. 19 17 acres.. 1 238 175 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 66 254 45 925 Average per farm .........dollars.. 116 440 84 889 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 63 110 42 702 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 3 145 3 223 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 169 127 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 61 41 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 61 51 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 62 89 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 44 48 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 35 55 $100,000 or more .................... 137 130 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 47 511 40 241 Average per farm .........dollars.. 83 499 74 382 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 282 305 Other ............................... 287 236 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 306 260 200 days or more ................... 202 153 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 281 217 number.. 14 504 14 777 Beef cows ..................farms.. 231 178 number.. 8 623 (D) Milk cows ..................farms.. 5 2 number.. 249 (D) Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 247 201 number.. 6 272 7 413 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 19 16 number.. 1 009 499 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 12 14 number.. 1 536 1 115 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 9 8 number.. 168 112 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 13 24 number.. (D) 849 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 1 0 number.. (D) 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 61 66 acres.. 17 241 21 621 bushels.. 1 511 420 1 459 032 Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 232 271 acres.. 193 661 174 338 bushels.. 12 533 466 9 351 166 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 7 7 acres.. 1 715 3 455 bushels.. 38 792 60 569 Rice..........................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 cwt.. 0 0 Cotton .......................farms.. 170 180 acres.. 100 597 75 434 bales.. 95 314 69 233 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 2 1 acres.. (D) (D) bushels.. (D) (D) Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 125 97 acres.. 10 121 5 196 tons, dry.. 16 256 10 205 @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.