1992 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1992 AND 1987 MC DOWELL COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Item ALL FARMS 1992 1987 Farms .........................number.. 194 232 Land in farms ..................acres.. 21 218 23 198 Average size of farm .......acres.. 109 100 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 215 948 113 797 Average per acre .........dollars.. 1 666 1 264 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 29 658 16 810 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 9 10 10 to 49 acres ...................... 64 83 50 to 179 acres ..................... 93 107 180 to 499 acres .................... 21 27 500 to 999 acres .................... 6 5 1,000 acres or more ................. 1 0 Total cropland .................farms.. 181 215 acres.. 8 366 9 164 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 156 184 acres.. 4 254 5 167 Irrigated land .................farms.. 14 14 acres.. 225 111 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 8 673 4 362 Average per farm .........dollars.. 44 707 18 801 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 5 214 1 265 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 3 459 3 097 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 80 118 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 27 51 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 27 19 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 20 14 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 12 7 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 11 10 $100,000 or more .................... 17 13 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 6 335 3 161 Average per farm .........dollars.. 32 655 13 623 Net cash return from agricultural sales for the farm unit.......farms.. 194 232 $1,000.. 1 277 615 Average per farm..........dollars.. 6 583 2 651 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 86 103 Other ............................... 108 129 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 109 124 200 days or more ................... 83 87 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 112 142 number.. 3 295 3 580 Beef cows ..................farms.. 93 112 number.. 1 039 1 278 Milk cows ..................farms.. 12 16 number.. 526 713 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 97 122 number.. 1 093 1 571 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 15 14 number.. 432 2 959 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 9 15 number.. 1 210 5 559 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 2 5 number.. (D) 89 Chickens 3 months old or older inventory.............farms.. 10 14 number.. 38 098 (D) Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 5 3 number.. 956 000 572 245 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 33 58 acres.. 857 1 352 bushels.. 80 328 114 981 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 0 1 acres.. 0 (D) bushels.. 0 (D) Cotton .......................farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 bales.. 0 0 Tobacco ......................farms.. 5 1 acres.. 14 (D) pounds.. 25 200 (D) Soybeans for beans ...........farms.. 7 11 acres.. 331 352 bushels.. 13 148 12 975 Peanuts for nuts .............farms.. 0 0 acres.. 0 0 pounds.. 0 0 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 107 129 acres.. 2 048 2 001 tons, dry.. 3 758 3 111 @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. .