1992 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1992 AND 1987 HOWARD COUNTY, IOWA Item ALL FARMS 1992 1987 Farms .........................number.. 881 938 Land in farms ..................acres.. 260 781 269 285 Average size of farm .......acres.. 296 287 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 303 698 209 318 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 003 737 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 72 010 48 381 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 68 64 10 to 49 acres ...................... 92 86 50 to 179 acres ..................... 229 264 180 to 499 acres .................... 355 377 500 to 999 acres .................... 97 114 1,000 acres or more ................. 40 33 Total cropland .................farms.. 798 877 acres.. 233 274 241 273 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 761 856 acres.. 198 178 178 288 Irrigated land .................farms.. 5 3 acres.. 172 (D) Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 73 822 66 773 Average per farm .........dollars.. 83 794 71 186 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 32 918 28 518 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 40 904 38 255 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 51 62 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 46 40 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 69 56 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 149 167 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 150 208 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 169 208 $100,000 or more .................... 247 197 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 62 502 52 352 Average per farm .........dollars.. 70 864 55 812 Net cash return from agricultural sales for the farm unit.......farms.. 882 938 $1,000.. 10 547 13 533 Average per farm..........dollars.. 11 958 14 427 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 654 733 Other ............................... 227 205 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 355 381 200 days or more ................... 215 191 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 398 490 number.. 34 047 34 299 Beef cows ..................farms.. 180 232 number.. 6 397 6 882 Milk cows ..................farms.. 125 168 number.. 5 148 6 098 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 407 495 number.. 19 353 19 407 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 340 358 number.. 103 793 98 541 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 358 366 number.. 195 012 163 639 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 37 47 number.. 1 744 3 857 Chickens 3 months old or older inventory.............farms.. 24 47 number.. 4 297 37 023 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 5 6 number.. 900 2 450 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 676 790 acres.. 110 243 86 835 bushels.. 12 841 876 10 708 944 Corn for sil for green chop...farms.. 162 162 acres.. 4 153 3 238 tons, green.. 57 293 49 211 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 3 6 acres.. (D) 122 bushels.. (D) 3 112 Oats for grain................farms.. 243 378 acres.. 5 158 9 270 bushels.. 316 453 505 665 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 544 618 acres.. 66 955 63 110 bushels.. 2 223 899 2 485 619 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 405 489 acres.. 14 833 19 656 tons, dry.. 42 997 60 098 @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. .