1992 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1992 AND 1987 MECOSTA COUNTY, MICHIGAN Item ALL FARMS 1992 1987 Farms .........................number.. 592 639 Land in farms ..................acres.. 121 153 127 078 Average size of farm .......acres.. 205 199 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 151 212 114 324 Average per acre .........dollars.. 822 677 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 39 604 32 935 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 12 16 10 to 49 acres ...................... 91 92 50 to 179 acres ..................... 266 286 180 to 499 acres .................... 170 192 500 to 999 acres .................... 44 46 1,000 acres or more ................. 9 7 Total cropland .................farms.. 564 619 acres.. 89 137 89 564 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 512 569 acres.. 59 412 59 270 Irrigated land .................farms.. 37 23 acres.. 5 420 4 046 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 22 062 19 039 Average per farm .........dollars.. 37 267 29 794 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 6 521 4 674 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 15 541 14 364 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 174 198 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 76 89 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 100 105 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 81 92 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 56 56 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 54 39 $100,000 or more .................... 51 60 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 19 373 14 687 Average per farm .........dollars.. 32 615 22 984 Net cash return from agricultural sales for the farm unit.......farms.. 594 639 $1,000.. 2 172 2 148 Average per farm..........dollars.. 3 656 3 362 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 303 338 Other ............................... 289 301 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 335 350 200 days or more ................... 208 252 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 350 374 number.. 17 965 17 567 Beef cows ..................farms.. 178 181 number.. 2 398 2 051 Milk cows ..................farms.. 130 143 number.. 5 357 6 029 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 337 355 number.. 7 384 6 879 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 78 86 number.. 7 282 8 959 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 80 84 number.. 10 293 13 818 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 22 18 number.. 2 745 1 514 Chickens 3 months old or older inventory.............farms.. 35 56 number.. 1 727 2 719 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 8 7 number.. 4 362 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 195 274 acres.. 10 693 11 825 bushels.. 708 206 842 597 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 88 85 acres.. 2 298 1 867 bushels.. 82 623 58 956 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 6 6 acres.. 167 125 bushels.. 2 812 2 344 Dry beans, ex dry limas.......farms.. 19 25 acres.. 2 329 3 377 cwt.. 25 529 35 493 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 459 509 acres.. 36 899 35 219 tons, dry.. 59 096 76 085 Vegetables harvested..........farms.. 26 19 acres.. 1 268 548 Land in orchards..............farms.. 15 15 acres.. 237 356 @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. .