1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 ESSEX COUNTY, VIRGINIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 114 120 Land in farms ..................acres.. 61 538 56 280 Average size of farm .......acres.. 540 469 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 686 099 549 539 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 282 1 161 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 109 560 80 778 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 7 9 10 to 49 acres ...................... 17 29 50 to 179 acres ..................... 31 30 180 to 499 acres .................... 18 19 500 to 999 acres .................... 22 14 1,000 acres or more ................. 19 19 Total cropland .................farms.. 104 116 acres.. 42 690 38 648 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 98 102 acres.. 39 310 34 612 Irrigated land .................farms.. 7 9 acres.. (D) 534 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 10 287 9 651 Average per farm .........dollars.. 90 239 80 429 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 9 778 9 163 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 509 488 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 20 20 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 12 12 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 12 17 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 19 21 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 8 12 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 10 9 $100,000 or more .................... 33 29 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 9 515 8 499 Average per farm .........dollars.. 84 206 70 241 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 72 66 Other ............................... 42 54 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 56 65 200 days or more ................... 37 41 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 28 22 number.. 1 538 843 Beef cows ..................farms.. 22 17 number.. 887 (D) Milk cows ..................farms.. 0 1 number.. 0 (D) Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 27 19 number.. 811 377 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 3 13 number.. (D) 1 943 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 3 12 number.. (D) 4 488 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 0 4 number.. 0 80 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 6 4 number.. 79 46 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 55 54 acres.. 13 043 10 528 bushels.. 1 300 529 1 269 797 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 66 59 acres.. 12 220 7 597 bushels.. 757 373 428 466 Tobacco ......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 72 80 acres.. 20 860 20 634 bushels.. 375 821 620 473 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 23 15 acres.. 1 140 496 tons, dry.. 2 223 963 Land in orchards..............farms.. 6 1 acres.. 34 (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.