1992 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1992 AND 1987 GASTON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1992 1987 Farms .........................number.. 293 336 Land in farms ..................acres.. 34 717 40 937 Average size of farm .......acres.. 118 122 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 180 997 230 458 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 787 1 943 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 26 201 22 405 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 30 29 10 to 49 acres ...................... 90 98 50 to 179 acres ..................... 119 132 180 to 499 acres .................... 41 66 500 to 999 acres .................... 11 9 1,000 acres or more ................. 2 2 Total cropland .................farms.. 262 312 acres.. 19 563 24 846 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 229 264 acres.. 11 103 11 333 Irrigated land .................farms.. 21 22 acres.. 57 65 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 7 510 7 291 Average per farm .........dollars.. 25 633 21 699 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 1 388 1 549 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 6 122 5 741 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 130 160 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 48 67 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 45 50 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 32 24 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 10 11 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 8 3 $100,000 or more .................... 20 21 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 6 086 5 819 Average per farm .........dollars.. 20 771 17 319 Net cash return from agricultural sales for the farm unit.......farms.. 293 336 $1,000.. 1 245 802 Average per farm..........dollars.. 4 250 2 387 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 119 129 Other ............................... 174 207 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 161 214 200 days or more ................... 123 158 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 203 220 number.. 9 713 8 480 Beef cows ..................farms.. 165 180 number.. 2 996 2 486 Milk cows ..................farms.. 23 28 number.. 2 449 2 208 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 184 202 number.. 3 067 3 438 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 21 25 number.. 1 544 1 513 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 14 22 number.. 5 998 5 837 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 4 4 number.. (D) (D) Chickens 3 months old or older inventory.............farms.. 10 18 number.. 401 446 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 0 0 number.. 0 0 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 23 40 acres.. 338 364 bushels.. 21 518 15 689 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 11 23 acres.. 377 923 bushels.. 14 435 32 947 Cotton .......................farms.. 1 1 acres.. (D) (D) bales.. (D) (D) Tobacco ......................farms.. 1 1 acres.. (D) (D) pounds.. (D) (D) Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 13 26 acres.. 637 957 bushels.. 13 317 17 831 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 193 211 acres.. 6 353 6 364 tons, dry.. 12 333 10 090 @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. .