1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 VIRGINIA BEACH COUNTY, VIRGINIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 147 156 Land in farms ..................acres.. 29 958 43 332 Average size of farm .......acres.. 204 278 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 455 016 694 918 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 529 2 507 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 50 887 48 222 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 36 33 10 to 49 acres ...................... 55 55 50 to 179 acres ..................... 26 29 180 to 499 acres .................... 17 22 500 to 999 acres .................... 5 7 1,000 acres or more ................. 8 10 Total cropland .................farms.. 129 135 acres.. 24 542 38 926 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 109 123 acres.. 22 707 34 870 Irrigated land .................farms.. 24 25 acres.. 160 247 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 13 638 17 002 Average per farm .........dollars.. 92 778 108 984 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 10 473 10 538 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 3 165 6 463 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 47 51 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 13 25 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 18 10 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 18 21 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 16 7 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 14 13 $100,000 or more .................... 21 29 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 9 399 14 106 Average per farm .........dollars.. 64 377 89 846 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 71 83 Other ............................... 76 73 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 84 73 200 days or more ................... 57 52 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 16 15 number.. 420 313 Beef cows ..................farms.. 11 12 number.. 259 180 Milk cows ..................farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 14 12 number.. 166 (D) Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 17 17 number.. 14 113 36 766 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 18 20 number.. 43 964 66 675 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 10 8 number.. 119 96 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 8 10 number.. 276 (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 2 1 number.. (D) (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 33 44 acres.. 5 809 8 960 bushels.. 625 100 1 218 741 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 28 43 acres.. 7 928 11 310 bushels.. 461 992 524 944 Tobacco ......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 52 69 acres.. 11 656 22 220 bushels.. 375 786 805 652 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 2 1 acres.. (D) (D) pounds.. (D) (D) Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 16 21 acres.. 737 596 tons, dry.. 1 132 930 Land in orchards..............farms.. 8 9 acres.. 10 39 @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.