1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 1 295 1 199 Land in farms ..................acres.. 431 582 422 464 Average size of farm .......acres.. 333 352 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 503 273 536 127 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 494 1 502 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 51 166 36 742 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 136 137 10 to 49 acres ...................... 383 334 50 to 179 acres ..................... 391 358 180 to 499 acres .................... 190 193 500 to 999 acres .................... 93 83 1,000 acres or more ................. 102 94 Total cropland .................farms.. 944 921 acres.. 193 138 191 148 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 699 719 acres.. 121 495 117 956 Irrigated land .................farms.. 103 93 acres.. 17 039 16 415 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 76 397 59 915 Average per farm .........dollars.. 58 994 49 971 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 64 244 46 959 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 12 153 12 956 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 435 374 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 229 202 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 156 145 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 189 185 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 94 93 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 59 73 $100,000 or more .................... 133 127 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 54 548 45 944 Average per farm .........dollars.. 42 122 38 351 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 565 569 Other ............................... 730 630 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 761 680 200 days or more ................... 533 463 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 891 757 number.. 62 279 56 433 Beef cows ..................farms.. 801 701 number.. 40 553 35 603 Milk cows ..................farms.. 3 20 number.. 3 51 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 873 728 number.. 30 936 28 840 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 38 50 number.. 1 076 1 744 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 23 29 number.. 1 081 2 319 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 17 16 number.. 381 245 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 52 79 number.. 1 623 2 380 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 2 3 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 42 100 acres.. 5 461 7 485 bushels.. 504 813 623 944 Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 139 192 acres.. 27 389 32 496 bushels.. 1 887 336 2 030 884 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 1 13 acres.. (D) 1 125 bushels.. (D) 40 108 Rice..........................farms.. 29 32 acres.. 11 592 12 065 cwt.. 658 485 676 342 Cotton .......................farms.. 206 285 acres.. 46 380 43 994 bales.. 46 218 58 516 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 50 27 acres.. 7 627 3 868 bushels.. 153 471 106 761 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 393 353 acres.. 18 443 15 424 tons, dry.. 36 346 38 419 @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.