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 
69,754 
78,463 
77,131 
79,541 
65,602 
67,959 
75,131 
82,199 
Land in farms 
acres 
14,568,926 
15,190,804 
15,741,552 
16,232,744 
14,900,205 
15,463,551 
16,606,567 
17,234,127 
Average size of farm 
acres 
209 
194 
204 
204 
227 
228 
221 
210 
Estimated market value of 
land and buildings 
Average per farm 
dollars 
819,551 
624,428 
464,127 
258,638 
282,135 
210,179 
182,950 
232,606 
Average per acre 
dollars 
3,924 
3,225 
2,272 
1,264 
1,244 
925 
826 
1,113 
Estimated market value of all 
machinery and equipment ' 
....$1,000 
9,037,376 
7,554,247 
5,386,373 
4,762,238 
4,375,650 
4,481,945 
4,053,360 
4,410,681 
Average per farm 
dollars 
129,561 
96,278 
72,300 
59,899 
66,731 
66,001 
54,037 
53,698 
Farms by size: 
1 to 9 acres 
4,603 
4,861 
4,141 
4,500 
3,142 
3,605 
4,012 
4,254 
1 0 to 49 acres 
17,825 
19,895 
17,152 
13,915 
9,673 
8,655 
8,778 
10,256 
50 to 1 79 acres 
25,502 
29,765 
29,458 
30,995 
24,546 
24,121 
27,498 
31,202 
1 80 to 499 acres 
15,688 
17,837 
20,021 
24,043 
22,228 
25,570 
28,828 
30,855 
500 to 999 acres 
3,885 
4,149 
4,465 
4,592 
4,573 
4,790 
4,923 
4,682 
1 ,000 to 1 ,999 acres 
1,580 
1,399 
1,395 
1,166 
1,121 
1,014 
921 
778 
2,000 acres or more 
671 
557 
499 
330 
319 
204 
171 
172 
Total cropland 
farms 
60,936 
68,478 
69,883 
72,657 
61,166 
64,229 
71,320 
78,060 
acres 
9,910,991 
10,116,279 
10,728,655 
10,999,803 
10,353,300 
10,948,614 
11,618,876 
11,769,183 
Flarvested cropland 
farms 
52,083 
54,105 
54,741 
62,656 
54,369 
61,125 
69,141 
75,734 
acres 
9,149,273 
8,884,628 
8,928,083 
8,996,941 
8,625,011 
8,843,649 
9,335,007 
10,062,154 
Irrigated land 
farms 
3,240 
2,907 
2,457 
2,269 
2,025 
2,146 
1,850 
1,695 
acres 
421,721 
377,291 
385,902 
358,467 
341,813 
330,838 
284,637 
259,270 
Market value of agricultural 
products sold (see text) 
....$1,000 
11744,476 
8,967,358 
5,623,275 
5,794,100 
5,579,861 
5,259,670 
4,909,869 
4,854,582 
Average per farm 
dollars 
168,370 
114,288 
72,906 
72,844 
85,056 
77,395 
65,351 
59,059 
Crops, including nursery 
and greenhouse crops 
....$1,000 
4,601,488 
2,669,326 
1,690,071 
1,754,487 
1 ,640,283 
1,126,566 
936,624 
943,422 
Livestock, poultry, and 
their products 
....$1,000 
7,142,988 
6,298,032 
3,933,204 
4,039,613 
3,939,578 
4,133,103 
3,973,245 
3,911,160 
Farms by value of sales 
Less than $2,500 
22,531 
30,296 
30,491 
22,254 
14,007 
9,932 
9,838 
10,768 
$2,500 to $4,999 
4,859 
5,955 
5,389 
6,711 
5,161 
5,355 
6,039 
6,472 
$5,000 to $9,999 
5,888 
6,732 
5,788 
7,278 
6,177 
6,576 
7,505 
7,884 
$10,000 to $24,999 
7,246 
7,732 
8,362 
10,024 
8,841 
8,995 
10,678 
12,178 
$25,000 to $49,999 
5,705 
5,704 
5,929 
7,700 
6,826 
7,872 
10,491 
12,995 
$50,000 to $99,999 
6,379 
5,397 
7,242 
9,153 
8,818 
11,916 
15,223 
18,022 
$100,000 to $499,999 
12,316 
13,189 
12,192 
14,928 
14,325 
16,471 
14,750 
13,389 
$500,000 or more 
4,830 
3,458 
1,738 
1,493 
1,447 
842 
607 
465 
Farms by legal status for tax 
purposes (see text): 
Family or individual 
60,617 
68,138 
68,719 
69,452 
56,598 
58,298 
64,642 
70,842 
Partnership 
4,667 
6,386 
5,347 
6,452 
5,746 
6,930 
7,909 
8,937 
Corporation 
3,334 
3,333 
2,726 
3,145 
2,870 
2,502 
2,322 
2,193 
Other-cooperative, estate 
or trust, institutional, etc 
1,136 
606 
339 
492 
388 
229 
258 
227 
Principal operator by days of work 
off farm 
None 
28,900 
30,492 
34,899 
35,003 
31,334 
36,175 
40,587 
43,143 
Any 
40,854 
47,971 
42,232 
41,029 
31,303 
28,081 
30,014 
33,440 
200 days or more 
28,046 
31,654 
30,495 
28,511 
21,088 
18,307 
18,776 
20,200 
Principal operator by primary occupation: 
Farming 
34,760 
37,047 
45,798 
43,356 
39,030 
46,180 
53,342 
57,939 
Other 
34,994 
41,416 
31,333 
36,185 
26,572 
21 ,779 
21,789 
24,260 
Average age of principal operator 
years 
56.5 
55.0 
53.0 
52.0 
52.2 
50.6 
50.3 
48.4 
Total farm production 
expenses ' 
....$1,000 
9,419,263 
6,748,715 
4,642,287 
4,430,522 
4,202,802 
4,029,737 
3,638,957 
(NA) 
Selected farm production 
expenses ^ 
Livestock and poultry purchased 
or leased 
....$1,000 
454,402 
356,954 
294,121 
324,928 
306,830 
349,520 
294,202 
261,923 
Feed purchased 
....$1,000 
2,066,721 
1,091,862 
785,165 
880,382 
847,206 
785,140 
675,221 
667,669 
Fertilizer, lime, and soil 
conditioners purchased ® 
....$1,000 
896,548 
495,308 
260,006 
268,793 
258,450 
248,410 
236,568 
262,517 
Gasoline, fuels, and oils purchased 
....$1,000 
542,992 
425,000 
193,005 
198,442 
187,629 
183,421 
175,966 
264,315 
Flired farm labor 
....$1,000 
878,266 
785,018 
515,473 
431,317 
409,009 
362,356 
312,325 
279,154 
Interest expense ® 
....$1,000 
492,131 
523,903 
342,250 
379,856 
356,573 
346,096 
400,274 
531 ,636 
Chemicals purchased 
....$1,000 
367,149 
263,235 
184,368 
175,810 
169,356 
135,926 
104,934 
90,030 
Livestock and poultry: 
Cattle and calves 
inventory 
farms 
29,908 
35,125 
38,120 
46,036 
39,593 
46,052 
53,315 
62,836 
number 
3,494,084 
3,373,923 
3,338,122 
3,497,475 
3,440,300 
3,866,998 
4,138,221 
4,458,683 
Beef cows 
farms 
13,020 
14,775 
13,300 
13,594 
11,642 
10,394 
10,355 
14,386 
number 
248,305 
269,820 
231,649 
220,031 
222,522 
195,810 
180,276 
236,967 
Milk cows 
farms 
1 1 ,543 
14,158 
16,886 
24,065 
22,576 
30,156 
37,325 
44,093 
number 
1,270,091 
1 ,249,309 
1,243,315 
1,361,041 
1,336,626 
1,521,969 
1,743,427 
1 ,852,784 
Cattle and calves sold 
farms 
25,614 
30,193 
31,807 
43,947 
38,832 
45,227 
52,816 
61,246 
number 
1,784,697 
1,513,662 
1,533,092 
1,616,528 
1,547,935 
1,808,889 
1,982,183 
1,806,185 
Hogs and pigs inventory 
farms 
2,270 
3,188 
2,993 
3,974 
3,686 
6,760 
8,737 
1 1 ,940 
number 
311,651 
436,814 
535,393 
758,141 
738,339 
1,173,783 
1,312,818 
1 ,479,028 
Hogs and pigs sold 
farms 
2,210 
3,516 
3,245 
3,857 
3,591 
6,776 
8,899 
12,059 
number 
934,000 
1,085,793 
1 ,294,440 
1,590,206 
1 ,523,490 
2,244,673 
2,515,246 
2,658,032 
See footnote(s) at end of table. -continued 
2012 Census of Agriculture - State Data 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
Wisconsin 7 
