1992 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1992 AND 1987 DE SOTO COUNTY, FLORIDA Item ALL FARMS 1992 1987 Farms .........................number.. 804 654 Land in farms ..................acres.. 334 623 351 402 Average size of farm .......acres.. 416 537 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 848 575 721 087 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 986 1 335 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 42 272 26 134 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 127 96 10 to 49 acres ...................... 327 245 50 to 179 acres ..................... 183 158 180 to 499 acres .................... 74 66 500 to 999 acres .................... 38 44 1,000 acres or more ................. 55 45 Total cropland .................farms.. 653 507 acres.. 89 670 86 702 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 559 389 acres.. 62 250 47 958 Irrigated land .................farms.. 437 268 acres.. 58 806 48 078 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 128 656 72 586 Average per farm .........dollars.. 160 020 110 988 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 113 091 53 052 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 15 565 19 535 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 211 181 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 72 92 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 87 77 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 131 106 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 97 62 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 75 54 $100,000 or more .................... 131 82 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 92 096 54 500 Average per farm .........dollars.. 114 548 82 203 Net cash return from agricultural sales for the farm unit.......farms.. 804 663 $1,000.. 36 133 17 652 Average per farm..........dollars.. 44 942 26 625 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 345 256 Other ............................... 459 398 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 437 369 200 days or more ................... 322 276 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 347 372 number.. 66 115 83 420 Beef cows ..................farms.. 305 330 number.. (D) (D) Milk cows ..................farms.. 12 9 number.. (D) (D) Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 323 350 number.. 30 528 42 258 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 17 15 number.. 482 265 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 8 7 number.. 1 027 219 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 4 1 number.. 39 (D) Chickens 3 months old or older inventory.............farms.. 20 21 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bushels.. 0 0 Sugarcane for sugar...........farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 tons.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 35 43 acres.. 2 464 2 765 tons, dry.. 5 515 4 931 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 26 22 acres.. 3 549 3 195 Land in orchards..............farms.. 488 324 acres.. 55 466 40 164 @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. .