1992 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1992 AND 1987 CATAWBA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1992 1987 Farms .........................number.. 507 567 Land in farms ..................acres.. 62 854 67 408 Average size of farm .......acres.. 124 119 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 316 974 176 150 Average per acre .........dollars.. 2 295 1 588 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 26 270 23 606 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 27 32 10 to 49 acres ...................... 168 209 50 to 179 acres ..................... 214 232 180 to 499 acres .................... 80 72 500 to 999 acres .................... 13 18 1,000 acres or more ................. 5 4 Total cropland .................farms.. 473 529 acres.. 39 910 40 648 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 386 452 acres.. 20 385 21 130 Irrigated land .................farms.. 23 20 acres.. 330 261 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 14 579 13 094 Average per farm .........dollars.. 28 756 23 093 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 4 500 2 556 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 10 079 10 538 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 191 275 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 109 100 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 81 73 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 57 57 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 23 13 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 12 17 $100,000 or more .................... 34 32 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 12 034 9 388 Average per farm .........dollars.. 23 735 16 558 Net cash return from agricultural sales for the farm unit.......farms.. 507 567 $1,000.. 1 957 1 740 Average per farm..........dollars.. 3 860 3 069 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 211 218 Other ............................... 296 349 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 295 347 200 days or more ................... 218 263 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 372 400 number.. 16 761 13 595 Beef cows ..................farms.. 329 336 number.. 7 204 5 464 Milk cows ..................farms.. 27 27 number.. 1 970 2 143 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 345 354 number.. 6 018 6 315 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 15 27 number.. 996 2 551 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 12 23 number.. 2 737 6 089 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 4 2 number.. 35 (D) Chickens 3 months old or older inventory.............farms.. 13 17 number.. (D) 35 299 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 6 2 number.. 1 185 524 (D) Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 61 88 acres.. 1 901 2 328 bushels.. 127 070 123 910 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 52 85 acres.. 2 925 2 885 bushels.. 119 452 108 559 Cotton .......................farms.. 1 0 acres.. (D) 0 bales.. (D) 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 75 84 acres.. 4 596 4 421 bushels.. 100 478 86 140 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 3 2 acres.. 3 (D) pounds.. (D) (D) Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 307 360 acres.. 8 793 8 053 tons, dry.. 16 030 12 747 @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. .