1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1997 AND 1992 RITCHIE COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA Item ALL FARMS 1997 1992 Farms .........................number.. 352 308 Land in farms ..................acres.. 86 976 70 960 Average size of farm .......acres.. 247 230 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 152 804 118 281 Average per acre .........dollars.. 607 486 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 20 636 15 315 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 6 6 10 to 49 acres ...................... 25 25 50 to 179 acres ..................... 164 137 180 to 499 acres .................... 118 118 500 to 999 acres .................... 28 15 1,000 acres or more ................. 11 7 Total cropland .................farms.. 330 294 acres.. 34 512 30 023 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 308 261 acres.. 13 986 10 085 Irrigated land .................farms.. 6 4 acres.. 104 9 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 2 244 3 786 Average per farm .........dollars.. 6 376 12 292 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 390 319 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 1 855 3 467 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 164 135 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 79 67 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 63 53 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 33 36 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 6 9 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 6 4 $100,000 or more .................... 1 4 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 2 627 3 032 Average per farm .........dollars.. 7 462 9 844 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 139 133 Other ............................... 213 175 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 226 176 200 days or more ................... 155 115 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 260 229 number.. 7 876 8 505 Beef cows ..................farms.. 235 206 number.. 3 969 3 712 Milk cows ..................farms.. 10 13 number.. 22 22 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 245 224 number.. 4 162 7 132 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 14 11 number.. 42 116 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 6 7 number.. 23 69 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 11 9 number.. 672 264 Layers and pullets 13 weeks old and older inventory.............farms.. 26 34 number.. 791 670 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 8 6 acres.. 49 23 bushels.. 3 905 1 647 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 8 9 acres.. 205 207 tons, green.. 3 039 2 811 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Oats for grain................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 1 1 acres.. (D) (D) pounds.. (D) (D) Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 300 253 acres.. 13 798 9 874 tons, dry.. 18 784 13 290 Land in orchards..............farms.. 5 5 acres.. 8 11 @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.