1992 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE HIGHLIGHTS OF AGRICULTURE: 1992 AND 1987 MERCER COUNTY, NORTH DAKOTA Item ALL FARMS 1992 1987 Farms .........................number.. 527 575 Land in farms ..................acres.. 531 643 557 568 Average size of farm .......acres.. 1 009 970 Value of land and buildings@1: Average per farm .........dollars.. 270 816 217 397 Average per acre .........dollars.. 260 237 Estimated market value of all machinery and equipment@1 Average per farm .........dollars.. 50 377 59 716 Farms by size: 1 to 9 acres ........................ 30 21 10 to 49 acres ...................... 26 31 50 to 179 acres ..................... 77 84 180 to 499 acres .................... 123 118 500 to 999 acres .................... 99 132 1,000 acres or more ................. 172 189 Total cropland .................farms.. 456 516 acres.. 265 838 293 227 Harvested cropland ...........farms.. 434 497 acres.. 149 564 166 854 Irrigated land .................farms.. 14 22 acres.. 2 304 2 607 Market value of agricultural products sold................$1,000.. 22 264 20 748 Average per farm .........dollars.. 42 246 36 084 Crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops............$1,000.. 8 310 7 609 Livestock, poultry, and their products....................$1,000.. 13 954 13 139 Farms by value of sales: Less than $2,500 .................... 66 59 $2,500 to $4,999 .................... 42 46 $5,000 to $9,999 .................... 75 83 $10,000 to $24,999 .................. 122 163 $25,000 to $49,999 .................. 97 81 $50,000 to $99,999 .................. 73 97 $100,000 or more .................... 52 46 Total farm production expenses.$1,000.. 17 348 15 629 Average per farm .........dollars.. 32 856 27 181 Net cash return from agricultural sales for the farm unit.......farms.. 528 575 $1,000.. 5 131 5 014 Average per farm..........dollars.. 9 718 8 720 Operators by principal occupation: Farming ............................. 345 397 Other ............................... 182 178 Operators by days worked off farm: Any ................................. 248 236 200 days or more ................... 152 159 Livestock and poultry: Cattle and calves inventory...farms.. 335 411 number.. 38 804 43 805 Beef cows ..................farms.. 300 360 number.. 20 790 23 304 Milk cows ..................farms.. 47 80 number.. 967 1 734 Cattle and calves sold .......farms.. 352 419 number.. 20 964 25 712 Hogs and pigs inventory ......farms.. 22 30 number.. 1 540 1 270 Hogs and pigs sold ...........farms.. 23 28 number.. 2 899 1 902 Sheep and lambs inventory ....farms.. 19 27 number.. 1 100 1 332 Chickens 3 months old or older inventory.............farms.. 27 67 number.. 1 225 3 983 Broilers and other meat-type chickens sold...............farms.. 10 10 number.. 1 240 2 205 Selected crops harvested: Corn for grain or seed .......farms.. 14 24 acres.. 819 1 647 bushels.. 45 974 113 351 Corn for sil or green chop....farms.. 81 120 acres.. 6 064 6 403 tons, green.. 38 853 48 194 Wheat for grain ..............farms.. 313 398 acres.. 74 862 74 778 bushels.. 2 398 921 1 787 352 Barley for grain..............farms.. 109 127 acres.. 8 179 10 276 bushels.. 395 381 353 117 Oats for grain................farms.. 214 308 acres.. 14 918 21 104 bushels.. 823 879 925 565 Sunflower seed................farms.. 2 16 acres.. (D) 4 665 pounds.. (D) 6 257 072 Hay-alf, other, wild, silage..farms.. 319 368 acres.. 47 449 49 622 tons, dry.. 60 605 89 240 @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. .