1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 ELLIS COUNTY, TEXAS Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 1 713 1 521 Land in farms ..................acres.. 425 717 426 189 Average size of farm .......acres.. 249 280 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 337 765 365 795 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 253 1 204 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 33 630 25 846 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 137 115 10 to 49 acres ...................... 515 409 50 to 179 acres ..................... 592 527 180 to 499 acres .................... 283 276 500 to 999 acres .................... 90 98 1,000 acres or more ................. 96 96 Total cropland .................farms.. 1 327 1 204 acres.. 255 083 271 383 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 944 887 acres.. 148 012 143 528 Irrigated land .................farms.. 56 29 acres.. 817 519 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 40 430 31 152 Average per farm .........dollars.. 23 602 20 482 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 24 695 15 159 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 15 735 15 994 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 739 610 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 320 263 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 257 253 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 207 201 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 66 81 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 46 56 $100,000 or more .................... 78 57 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 34 535 31 909 Average per farm .........dollars.. 20 173 20 965 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 581 571 Other ............................... 1 132 950 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 1 126 944 200 days or more ................... 840 667 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 1 241 1 148 number.. 56 096 53 163 Beef cows ..................farms.. 1 073 1 014 number.. 27 464 28 062 Milk cows ..................farms.. 39 43 number.. 2 003 2 097 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 1 171 1 085 number.. 29 105 28 453 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 37 39 number.. 679 744 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 27 27 number.. 2 696 1 699 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 42 47 number.. 621 1 007 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 69 65 number.. 1 696 1 383 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 2 1 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 65 96 acres.. 22 212 30 356 bushels.. 1 710 004 2 088 680 Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 75 116 acres.. 16 125 24 525 bushels.. 858 337 876 504 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 144 74 acres.. 26 545 12 561 bushels.. 804 409 385 018 Rice..........................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 cwt.. 0 0 Cotton .......................farms.. 74 95 acres.. 30 737 34 377 bales.. 23 881 21 788 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 28 0 acres.. 4 261 0 bushels.. 102 922 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 788 728 acres.. 48 542 42 968 tons, dry.. 90 963 85 234 @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.