1992 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1992 AND 1987 LA PLATA COUNTY, COLORADO Item ALL FARMS 1992 1987 Farms .........................number.. 709 682 Land in farms ..................acres.. 587 339 613 579 Average size of farm .......acres.. 828 900 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 540 837 518 116 Average per acre .........dollars.. 560 570 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 33 777 33 633 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 25 39 10 to 49 acres ...................... 184 154 50 to 179 acres ..................... 231 206 180 to 499 acres .................... 131 144 500 to 999 acres .................... 71 60 1,000 acres or more ................. 67 79 Total cropland .................farms.. 629 598 acres.. 108 216 109 135 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 508 514 acres.. 44 460 48 622 Irrigated land .................farms.. 591 530 acres.. 85 394 61 461 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 14 248 16 040 Average per farm .........dollars.. 20 096 23 520 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 3 364 2 826 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 10 884 13 214 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 247 263 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 105 78 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 86 101 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 117 105 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 86 59 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 41 43 $100,000 or more .................... 27 33 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 13 969 15 337 Average per farm .........dollars.. 19 703 22 521 Net cash return from agricultural sales for the farm unit.......farms.. 709 681 $1,000.. (D) 999 Average per farm..........dollars.. (D) 1 468 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 355 328 Other ............................... 354 354 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 442 433 200 days or more ................... 296 262 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 399 378 number.. 32 686 34 266 Beef cows ..................farms.. 348 318 number.. 16 710 17 746 Milk cows ..................farms.. 37 71 number.. 347 582 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 389 368 number.. 16 429 23 594 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 37 38 number.. 1 698 1 823 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 26 39 number.. 2 933 3 303 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 63 69 number.. 6 812 6 991 Chickens 3 months old or older inventory.............farms.. 69 118 number.. 3 158 11 936 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 3 1 number.. 84 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 2 2 acres.. (D) (D) bushels.. (D) (D) Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 7 9 acres.. 270 404 tons, green.. 4 446 8 038 Sorghum for grain or seed.....farms.. 1 1 acres.. (D) (D) bushels.. (D) (D) Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 38 48 acres.. 3 922 5 524 bushels.. 114 428 91 029 Barley for grain..............farms.. 4 11 acres.. 211 560 bushels.. 10 520 25 146 Dry beans, ex dry limas.......farms.. 7 10 acres.. 2 346 4 446 cwt.. 17 831 15 890 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 482 478 acres.. 35 875 34 991 tons, dry.. 85 755 78 506 @1Data are based on a sample of farms. Legend: - Represents zero (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual farms (X) Not applicable (Z) Less than half the unit shown (NA) Not available Source: 1992 Census of Agriculture, Volume 1 Geographic Area Series, "Table 1. County Summary Highlights: 1992." This electronic series presents summary statistics for each county and state together with comparable data from the 1987 census. The items included are the same for all states and counties, except selected crops harvested, which vary by state. Data for 1992 and 1987 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 Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. If you have any questions concerning the data in this report or need additional information or order forms for agriculture publications, please call Agriculture Division, Bureau of the Census, at 1-800-523-3215. .