1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 631 643 Land in farms ..................acres.. 140 110 141 766 Average size of farm .......acres.. 222 220 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 394 159 324 330 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 911 1 447 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 29 597 30 673 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 26 33 10 to 49 acres ...................... 126 112 50 to 179 acres ..................... 237 259 180 to 499 acres .................... 186 172 500 to 999 acres .................... 40 51 1,000 acres or more ................. 16 16 Total cropland .................farms.. 560 564 acres.. 63 667 61 295 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 476 468 acres.. 29 251 25 887 Irrigated land .................farms.. 10 11 acres.. 241 168 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 15 446 14 373 Average per farm .........dollars.. 24 478 22 353 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 1 672 1 664 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 13 774 12 709 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 159 148 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 111 134 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 127 140 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 135 128 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 51 43 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 17 22 $100,000 or more .................... 31 28 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 14 019 13 722 Average per farm .........dollars.. 22 147 21 341 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 263 307 Other ............................... 368 336 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 369 364 200 days or more ................... 261 268 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 501 531 number.. 37 562 36 946 Beef cows ..................farms.. 427 452 number.. 17 693 17 290 Milk cows ..................farms.. 21 32 number.. 1 625 1 517 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 502 526 number.. 19 736 18 863 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 18 32 number.. 244 341 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 8 23 number.. 209 843 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 24 36 number.. 1 185 2 306 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 18 35 number.. (D) 1 211 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 2 1 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 31 54 acres.. 1 011 1 733 bushels.. 89 277 138 007 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 5 9 acres.. 80 138 bushels.. 3 506 5 897 Tobacco ......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 6 9 acres.. 256 308 bushels.. 10 892 8 280 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 458 446 acres.. 26 200 22 442 tons, dry.. 48 034 42 698 Land in orchards..............farms.. 16 11 acres.. 139 73 @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.