Table 1. Historical Highlights: 2012 and Earlier Census Years 
[For meaning of abbreviations and symbols, see introductory text.] 
All farms 
2012 
2007 
2002 
1997 
Not adjusted for coverage 
1997 
1992 
1987 
1982 
Farms 
... number 
30,961 
31,970 
30,619 
32,348 
30,504 
31,123 
35,289 
36,431 
Land in farms 
acres 
39,262,613 
39,674,586 
39,294,879 
39,678,169 
39,359,346 
39,438,144 
40,336,869 
40,206,005 
Average size of farm 
acres 
1,268 
1,241 
1,283 
1,227 
1,290 
1,267 
1,143 
1,104 
Estimated market value of 
land and buildings 
Average per farm 
dollars 
1,808,801 
957,053 
517,448 
495,730 
512,734 
422,936 
366,475 
486,939 
Average per acre 
dollars 
1,426 
771 
404 
406 
401 
335 
319 
439 
Estimated market value of all 
machinery and equipment ' 
....$1,000 
9,297,134 
5,584,253 
3,695,269 
3,516,814 
3,415,776 
2,715,228 
2,734,073 
3,063,883 
Average per farm 
dollars 
300,334 
174,683 
124,298 
108,745 
112,015 
87,290 
77,505 
84,156 
Farms by size: 
1 to 9 acres 
689 
387 
277 
617 
545 
785 
876 
1,121 
1 0 to 49 acres 
2,711 
2,268 
1,763 
1,692 
1,420 
1,264 
1,596 
1,140 
50 to 1 79 acres 
6,557 
6,068 
5,204 
4,169 
3,573 
2,945 
3,025 
3,178 
1 80 to 499 acres 
5,906 
6,710 
5,978 
6,080 
5,459 
4,985 
6,148 
6,577 
500 to 999 acres 
4,237 
4,687 
4,919 
6,185 
5,867 
6,714 
8,637 
9,756 
1 ,000 to 1 ,999 acres 
4,424 
5,369 
5,994 
7,548 
7,499 
8,740 
10,013 
10,042 
2,000 acres or more 
6,437 
6,481 
6,484 
6,057 
6,141 
5,690 
4,994 
4,617 
Total cropland 
farms 
27,440 
29,378 
28,502 
29,414 
27,994 
28,967 
33,179 
34,693 
acres 
27,147,240 
27,527,180 
26,506,477 
27,384,403 
27,024,895 
27,469,875 
28,208,099 
28,115,546 
Flarvested cropland 
farms 
19,391 
20,408 
20,789 
25,813 
25,153 
27,804 
32,360 
34,031 
acres 
23,469,816 
22,035,717 
19,908,697 
20,674,991 
20,438,149 
19,216,531 
18,363,910 
20,308,135 
Irrigated land 
farms 
744 
795 
659 
730 
710 
816 
809 
762 
acres 
218,407 
236,138 
202,817 
183,004 
180,362 
187,212 
168,013 
162,643 
Market value of agricultural 
products sold (see text) 
....$1,000 
10,950,680 
6,084,218 
3,233,366 
2,908,049 
2,869,322 
2,745,752 
2,188,158 
2,294,326 
Average per farm 
dollars 
353,693 
190,310 
105,600 
89,899 
94,064 
88,223 
62,007 
62,977 
Crops, including nursery 
and greenhouse crops 
....$1,000 
9,664,285 
5,038,521 
2,460,372 
2,229,835 
2,193,672 
2,030,900 
1,497,212 
1,759,871 
Livestock, poultry, and 
their products 
....$1,000 
1 ,286,395 
1,045,697 
772,994 
678,214 
675,649 
714,852 
690,946 
534,455 
Farms by value of sales 
Less than $2,500 
10,447 
1 1 ,386 
9,311 
5,318 
4,164 
2,139 
2,260 
2,092 
$2,500 to $4,999 
976 
868 
1,004 
1,469 
1,313 
1,363 
1,750 
1,638 
$5,000 to $9,999 
1,275 
1,215 
1,471 
2,220 
2,104 
2,191 
2,982 
2,786 
$10,000 to $24,999 
1,816 
1,967 
3,080 
4,479 
4,365 
4,851 
6,817 
6,924 
$25,000 to $49,999 
1,817 
2,163 
3,073 
4,694 
4,558 
5,399 
7,725 
8,256 
$50,000 to $99,999 
2,074 
2,891 
3,851 
5,425 
5,341 
6,502 
7,808 
8,395 
$100,000 to $499,999 
6,460 
7,855 
7,602 
8,041 
7,961 
8,165 
5,701 
6,088 
$500,000 or more 
6,096 
3,625 
1,227 
702 
698 
513 
246 
227 
Farms by legal status for tax 
purposes (see text): 
Family or individual 
27,578 
28,079 
27,578 
28,323 
26,660 
27,093 
31,153 
31 ,742 
Partnership 
2,124 
2,834 
2,289 
3,218 
3,075 
3,504 
3,692 
4,338 
Corporation 
707 
560 
446 
560 
551 
349 
293 
185 
Other-cooperative, estate 
or trust, institutional, etc 
552 
497 
306 
247 
218 
177 
151 
166 
Principal operator by days of work 
off farm 
None 
14,496 
15,291 
17,030 
15,676 
15,176 
16,741 
19,542 
19,126 
Any 
16,465 
16,679 
13,589 
14,023 
12,837 
1 1 ,827 
13,137 
13,058 
200 days or more 
10,266 
9,712 
7,868 
6,935 
6,135 
4,916 
5,295 
4,814 
Principal operator by primary occupation: 
Farming 
17,509 
18,525 
21,644 
23,391 
22,677 
25,189 
29,031 
30,592 
Other 
13,452 
13,445 
8,975 
8,957 
7,827 
5,934 
6,258 
5,839 
Average age of principal operator 
years 
57.0 
56.5 
54.4 
51.4 
51.4 
50.0 
48.3 
47.3 
Total farm production 
expenses ' 
....$1,000 
7,296,140 
4,239,872 
2,706,081 
2,496,055 
2,453,342 
2,090,938 
1,846,305 
(NA) 
Selected farm production 
expenses ^ 
Livestock and poultry purchased 
or leased 
....$1,000 
291,801 
204,142 
124,054 
108,364 
106,412 
143,982 
128,202 
103,704 
Feed purchased 
....$1,000 
324,796 
158,337 
118,559 
127,602 
125,867 
104,335 
75,149 
72,876 
Fertilizer, lime, and soil 
conditioners purchased ® 
....$1,000 
1,256,230 
674,950 
293,625 
312,367 
306,933 
200,797 
178,957 
159,111 
Gasoline, fuels, and oils purchased 
....$1,000 
538,408 
374,451 
169,655 
189,049 
186,278 
181,040 
176,838 
253,781 
Flired farm labor 
....$1,000 
280,464 
169,978 
140,999 
123,393 
122,283 
99,790 
92,847 
76,864 
Interest expense ® 
....$1,000 
334,271 
258,449 
222,187 
238,378 
234,100 
213,388 
214,381 
306,237 
Chemicals purchased 
....$1,000 
799,532 
428,021 
258,775 
221,914 
217,605 
161,765 
143,598 
116,882 
Livestock and poultry: 
Cattle and calves 
inventory 
farms 
9,868 
10,508 
1 1 ,705 
14,694 
14,232 
15,183 
17,154 
18,548 
number 
1,809,613 
1,811,523 
1,873,191 
1,813,276 
1,810,409 
1 ,723,920 
1 ,873,839 
1,886,961 
Beef cows 
farms 
8,964 
9,667 
10,691 
13,117 
12,744 
13,216 
14,414 
15,585 
number 
881,682 
930,023 
982,270 
921,588 
920,559 
837,716 
886,585 
874,660 
Milk cows 
farms 
243 
402 
633 
1,190 
1,170 
1,925 
2,839 
3,689 
number 
1 7,876 
26,479 
34,505 
53,835 
54,024 
74,885 
96,366 
102,660 
Cattle and calves sold 
farms 
8,925 
10,025 
10,944 
14,853 
14,426 
15,249 
17,428 
18,656 
number 
964,746 
1,109,460 
1,100,004 
1,059,624 
1,055,343 
978,947 
1,106,924 
1,018,516 
Hogs and pigs inventory 
farms 
218 
350 
433 
838 
797 
1,932 
2,365 
2,506 
number 
133,653 
181,679 
138,838 
199,750 
197,372 
346,082 
294,427 
260,160 
Hogs and pigs sold 
farms 
193 
351 
474 
851 
814 
2,033 
2,412 
2,619 
number 
831,123 
675,808 
393,422 
380,155 
374,733 
603,910 
500,107 
447,738 
See footnote(s) at end of table. -continued 
2012 Census of Agriculture - State Data 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
North Dakota 7 
