1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 AMHERST COUNTY, VIRGINIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 406 418 Land in farms ..................acres.. 92 720 90 296 Average size of farm .......acres.. 228 216 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 318 076 213 236 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 240 1 070 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 33 219 18 634 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 19 15 10 to 49 acres ...................... 68 74 50 to 179 acres ..................... 173 180 180 to 499 acres .................... 106 105 500 to 999 acres .................... 25 36 1,000 acres or more ................. 15 8 Total cropland .................farms.. 350 374 acres.. 33 705 35 261 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 279 303 acres.. 13 942 13 293 Irrigated land .................farms.. 4 8 acres.. (D) 30 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 5 105 5 334 Average per farm .........dollars.. 12 575 12 760 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 1 501 1 030 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 3 604 4 304 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 107 124 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 103 83 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 93 93 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 71 78 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 16 22 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 12 10 $100,000 or more .................... 4 8 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 5 106 5 001 Average per farm .........dollars.. 12 576 11 992 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 148 170 Other ............................... 258 248 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 253 249 200 days or more ................... 185 191 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 323 329 number.. 16 857 18 253 Beef cows ..................farms.. 285 290 number.. 9 092 9 521 Milk cows ..................farms.. 9 9 number.. 77 217 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 329 321 number.. 9 174 8 672 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 6 13 number.. 43 158 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 4 7 number.. (D) 173 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 14 7 number.. 378 330 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 18 16 number.. 285 319 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 1 0 number.. (D) 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 9 18 acres.. 137 79 bushels.. 11 535 4 399 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 0 1 acres.. 0 (D) bushels.. 0 (D) Tobacco ......................farms.. 2 5 acres.. (D) (D) pounds.. (D) (D) Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 3 0 acres.. 68 0 bushels.. 918 0 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 267 275 acres.. 13 039 11 893 tons, dry.. 22 326 24 280 Land in orchards..............farms.. 12 21 acres.. 380 455 @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.