1992 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1992 AND 1987 MASON COUNTY, MICHIGAN Item ALL FARMS 1992 1987 Farms .........................number.. 402 426 Land in farms ..................acres.. 73 437 76 193 Average size of farm .......acres.. 183 179 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 182 482 135 915 Average per acre .........dollars.. 988 713 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 43 607 39 475 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 12 13 10 to 49 acres ...................... 100 107 50 to 179 acres ..................... 161 169 180 to 499 acres .................... 96 99 500 to 999 acres .................... 24 32 1,000 acres or more ................. 9 6 Total cropland .................farms.. 393 406 acres.. 55 153 56 687 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 357 391 acres.. 39 587 38 968 Irrigated land .................farms.. 58 48 acres.. 3 354 2 266 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 20 373 15 715 Average per farm .........dollars.. 50 679 36 889 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 11 001 8 403 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 9 372 7 312 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 109 115 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 44 44 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 46 72 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 61 68 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 43 45 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 52 40 $100,000 or more .................... 47 42 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 17 411 13 031 Average per farm .........dollars.. 43 418 30 590 Net cash return from agricultural sales for the farm unit.......farms.. 401 426 $1,000.. 2 680 2 890 Average per farm..........dollars.. 6 684 6 783 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 205 210 Other ............................... 197 216 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 244 253 200 days or more ................... 150 150 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 127 135 number.. 8 859 7 897 Beef cows ..................farms.. 55 50 number.. 811 496 Milk cows ..................farms.. 53 64 number.. 2 580 3 025 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 119 135 number.. 4 669 3 152 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 32 32 number.. 5 798 4 196 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 30 23 number.. 8 313 10 385 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 20 15 number.. 2 526 1 592 Chickens 3 months old or older inventory.............farms.. 20 32 number.. (D) (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 3 6 number.. 90 1 615 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 113 154 acres.. 7 429 7 959 bushels.. 511 387 636 048 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 75 49 acres.. 2 820 1 550 bushels.. 110 011 60 686 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 14 6 acres.. 591 206 bushels.. 11 723 5 235 Dry beans, ex dry limas.......farms.. 5 2 acres.. 232 (D) cwt.. 2 204 (D) Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 183 222 acres.. 13 146 14 814 tons, dry.. 26 731 33 294 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 85 101 acres.. 4 786 5 012 Land in orchards..............farms.. 62 65 acres.. 6 205 5 732 @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. .