1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 MASON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 742 709 Land in farms ..................acres.. 120 561 117 168 Average size of farm .......acres.. 162 165 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 178 881 128 181 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 120 852 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 28 526 19 614 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 51 56 10 to 49 acres ...................... 117 125 50 to 179 acres ..................... 371 312 180 to 499 acres .................... 165 176 500 to 999 acres .................... 28 31 1,000 acres or more ................. 10 9 Total cropland .................farms.. 699 670 acres.. 49 364 48 651 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 655 636 acres.. 26 789 24 434 Irrigated land .................farms.. 10 22 acres.. 70 220 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 15 092 14 284 Average per farm .........dollars.. 20 340 20 146 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 7 446 5 554 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 7 646 8 729 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 327 268 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 130 156 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 140 111 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 80 87 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 29 30 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 13 26 $100,000 or more .................... 23 31 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 11 306 10 045 Average per farm .........dollars.. 15 176 14 168 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 287 265 Other ............................... 455 444 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 432 393 200 days or more ................... 304 274 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 453 472 number.. 15 820 17 289 Beef cows ..................farms.. 388 386 number.. 6 567 6 497 Milk cows ..................farms.. 30 47 number.. 1 969 2 824 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 409 419 number.. 7 437 7 211 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 11 26 number.. 701 1 007 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 9 23 number.. 1 275 2 772 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 11 11 number.. 250 933 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 32 29 number.. 583 423 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 1 number.. 0 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 91 110 acres.. 4 531 4 976 bushels.. 496 186 583 689 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 34 48 acres.. 1 778 2 107 tons, green.. 28 963 34 410 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 15 27 acres.. 471 572 bushels.. 22 110 22 276 Oats for grain................farms.. 2 9 acres.. (D) 117 bushels.. (D) 6 135 Tobacco ......................farms.. 208 266 acres.. 439 505 pounds.. 756 468 825 926 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 521 477 acres.. 16 966 15 114 tons, dry.. 34 345 29 294 Land in orchards..............farms.. 11 7 acres.. 17 8 @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.