1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 ESSEX COUNTY, VERMONT Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 79 74 Land in farms ..................acres.. 25 497 17 710 Average size of farm .......acres.. 323 239 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 303 091 248 429 Average per acre .........dollars.. 939 1 038 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 54 406 53 927 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 5 8 10 to 49 acres ...................... 7 8 50 to 179 acres ..................... 18 21 180 to 499 acres .................... 35 28 500 to 999 acres .................... 10 6 1,000 acres or more ................. 4 3 Total cropland .................farms.. 72 70 acres.. 9 438 8 108 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 71 61 acres.. 7 915 6 202 Irrigated land .................farms.. 3 3 acres.. (D) (D) Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 6 769 5 907 Average per farm .........dollars.. 85 687 79 829 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 1 301 497 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 5 468 5 410 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 18 20 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 8 5 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 10 6 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 14 9 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 3 2 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 11 12 $100,000 or more .................... 15 20 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 5 593 5 221 Average per farm .........dollars.. 70 795 70 560 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 56 50 Other ............................... 23 24 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 24 23 200 days or more ................... 16 14 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 45 49 number.. 4 345 4 497 Beef cows ..................farms.. 13 11 number.. (D) (D) Milk cows ..................farms.. 32 35 number.. (D) (D) Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 42 47 number.. 1 610 1 592 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 5 8 number.. 17 34 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 3 7 number.. 9 118 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 4 6 number.. (D) 23 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 9 7 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 15 20 acres.. 1 249 1 197 tons, green.. 23 023 19 467 Oats for grain................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 59 55 acres.. 6 096 5 198 tons, dry.. 9 051 8 966 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 3 1 acres.. (D) (D) Land in orchards..............farms.. 1 1 acres.. (D) (D) @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.