1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 MERCER COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 409 495 Land in farms ..................acres.. 53 450 56 555 Average size of farm .......acres.. 131 114 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 135 627 105 762 Average per acre .........dollars.. 883 844 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 22 231 14 672 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 16 35 10 to 49 acres ...................... 104 133 50 to 179 acres ..................... 202 244 180 to 499 acres .................... 73 66 500 to 999 acres .................... 12 15 1,000 acres or more ................. 2 2 Total cropland .................farms.. 381 463 acres.. 18 258 20 672 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 348 399 acres.. 7 862 7 840 Irrigated land .................farms.. 4 7 acres.. 4 60 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 2 539 2 807 Average per farm .........dollars.. 6 207 5 670 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 710 589 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 1 829 2 218 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 199 270 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 89 102 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 70 61 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 34 46 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 7 10 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 7 2 $100,000 or more .................... 3 4 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 2 151 2 144 Average per farm .........dollars.. 5 235 4 322 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 161 182 Other ............................... 248 313 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 228 264 200 days or more ................... 157 209 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 265 362 number.. 6 040 7 324 Beef cows ..................farms.. 228 320 number.. 3 102 3 857 Milk cows ..................farms.. 10 9 number.. 36 18 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 262 325 number.. 3 216 4 547 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 13 28 number.. 92 425 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 8 17 number.. 134 448 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 8 22 number.. 217 542 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 18 34 number.. 340 548 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 1 0 number.. (D) 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 18 18 acres.. 110 86 bushels.. 11 102 6 576 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 6 13 acres.. 94 130 tons, green.. 853 1 688 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Oats for grain................farms.. 5 5 acres.. 31 21 bushels.. 2 340 1 352 Tobacco ......................farms.. 2 8 acres.. (D) 3 pounds.. (D) 4 408 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 324 367 acres.. 7 450 7 584 tons, dry.. 13 232 12 305 Land in orchards..............farms.. 11 17 acres.. 28 33 @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.