To the Providers and Users of Pershing County Agricultural Statistics:

This is the sixth year that University of Nevada, Reno Extension and Nevada Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) have produced a fact sheet summarizing agricultural data for Pershing County. All of the information in this fact sheet came from the 2001-2002 Nevada Agricultural Statistics Service’s Annual Report and the latest Census of Agriculture report. It is hoped that this county-version will be helpful to those seeking agricultural data pertinent to Pershing County. Special thanks go to the Pershing County farmers and ranchers whose voluntary participation in the NASS surveys provided this information. Questions regarding any of these statistics or additional information are welcomed.

Located in northwestern Nevada, Pershing County’s population reached more than 7,000 in 2000 but has since declined to 6,873. The main industries are mining and agriculture. Pershing County is one of the foremost agricultural production regions in Nevada. However, a severe drought curtailed many agricultural activities during the 2002 growing season. The Census of Agriculture shows the county with 120 farms and ranches covering nearly 120,000 acres excluding public grazing allotment lands. Average farm size is 995 acres. Alfalfa hay, alfalfa seed, and small grains are the principle crops. Sheep and cattle commonly graze dormant fields during the winter months. The county is home to the state’s largest sheep and cattle feedlots. While agricultural production for this past year is valued at approximately $40 million, if one considers the multiplier effect of this production, the total economic impact on the county is much greater.

Table 1. Pershing County Demographics
Item	Amount
Population	7460
Size	3,859,840 acres or 6,031 square miles
Number of Farms and Ranches	120
Land in farms	119,435
Average size	995 acres
Average Market Value of Products Sold / Farm	$272,325
Average Production Expenses / Farm	$229,492

Table 2. Agricultural Production
Item	Amount	Value
Alfalfa Hay	26,000 acres harvested	$ 13,514,800
All Other Hay	8,000 acres harvested	$ 3,588,000
Alfalfa Seed	2,600 acres harvested	$ 2,015,000
Spring Wheat	n/a	n/a
Winter Wheat	1,100 acres harvested	$ 335,500
Barley	n/a	n/a
Cattle & Calves	26,000 head, January 1st inventory	$ 19,760,000
Sheep	9,000 head, January 1st inventory	$ 819,000
	TOTAL	$ 40,031,500
n/a data omitted to avoid disclosing individual information.

Table 3. Average Price Received / Amount Produced
Item	Amount ($) / UNIT	Production / Unit
Alfalfa Hay	113.00 / ton	4.6 tons / acre
All Other Hay	115.00 / ton	3.9 tons / acre
Alfalfa Seed	1.25 / pound	620 pounds / acre
Spring Wheat	n/a	n/a
Winter Wheat	3.05 / bushel	96 bushels / acre
Barley	n/a	n/a
Cattle & Calves	760.00 / head	n/a
Sheep	91.00 / head	n/a
n/a data omitted to avoid disclosing individual information.

Alfalfa hay continues to be the most important crop in terms of both acres harvested and value of production. All other hay moved up to second place this year followed by alfalfa seed, and winter wheat.. Together, these crops were valued at $19,452,500 during 2002. Livestock, including cattle and calves, as well as sheep, were valued at $20,579,000.

The census of agriculture counts as a farm every place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold or normally would have been sold during the census year. It is the only source of uniform, comprehensive agricultural data for every county in the nation. The latest census lists some interesting characteristics concerning farms in Pershing County. The following table shows the number of farms by size and sales.

Table 4. Characteristics of Farms by Size and Sales for Pershing County
Farms by Size	Number of Farms	Farms by Sales	Number of Farms
1 to 9 acres	5	Less than $2,500	20
10 to 49 acres	14	$2,500 to $4,999	9
50 to 179 acres	25	$5,000 to $9,999	12
180 to 499 acres	34	$10,000 to $24,999	16
500 to 999 acres	12	$25,000 to $49,999	14
1,000 acres or more	30	$50,000 to $99,999	20
Total Farms	120	$100,000 or more	30

Graph comparing the number of cattle & calves to the number of sheep from 1997-2002, with the number of cattle always above 25,000, and the number of sheep around 7,500, and only 5,000 in 1997. — Livestock Numbers in Pershing County

Graph of the acreage that each major crop in Pershing County used. Barley and Spring Wheat have close to no acreage, Winter Wheat followed by Alfalfa Seed having less than 5000, All Other Hay having in between 5000 and 10000, and Alfalfa Hay over 25,000. — Acres of Major Crops Grown in Pershing County

Table 5. Pershing County Comparison with other Counties
County	Cash Receipts ($)	Rank	Number of Farms	Rank/th>	Average Farm Size (Acres)	Rank	Acres in Farm-Ranch	Rank
Carson	198,000	16	18	16	401	13	7224	15
Churchill	38,058,000	4	511	1	253	15	129,058	9
Clark	18,962,000	7	209	6	338	14	70,741	12
Douglas	8,796,000	11	156	7	579	10	90,372	10
Elko	49,228,000	3	402	2	7,103	1	2,855,472	1
Esmeralda	4,016,000	14	20	15	1,373	7	27,454	14
Eureka	13,133,000	9	84	12	2,559	5	214,966	7
Humboldt	57,315,000	1	218	5	3,364	3	733,418	2
Lander	12,794,000	10	76	13	6,935	2	486,017	4
Lincoln	7,317,000	12	121	9	404	12	48,897	13
Lyon	53,959,000	2	305	3	572	11	174,448	8
Mineral	1,809,000	15	37	14	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Nye	27,792,000	6	144	8	594	9	85,534	11
Pershing	32,679,000	5	120	10	995	8	119,435	5
Storey	N/A	17	8	17	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Washoe	13,247,000	8	285	4	2,709	4	772,115	3
White Pine	7,024,000	13	115	11	2,152	6	247,446	6

This table is based upon a sample of farms and is taken from the 1997 Census of Agriculture. As can be seen, the cash value of receipts from the 1997 census is considerably less than the total value of production for 2002. While changes to “cash receipts” will change slightly from year to year, this table still provides an overview of the respective rankings of the state’s counties based upon agricultural production values. For any additional information or questions concerning the Pershing County data presented in this fact sheet please contact the authors at their respective addresses

Breazeale, D., Owens, M. 2007, Pershing County Agricultural Statistics (2001 - 2002), Extension, University of Nevada, Reno, FS-03-07

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Pershing County Agricultural Statistics (2001 - 2002)

To the Providers and Users of Pershing County Agricultural Statistics:

Table 1. Pershing County Demographics
Item	Amount
Population	7460
Size	3,859,840 acres or 6,031 square miles
Number of Farms and Ranches	120
Land in farms	119,435
Average size	995 acres
Average Market Value of Products Sold / Farm	$272,325
Average Production Expenses / Farm	$229,492

Table 2. Agricultural Production
Item	Amount	Value
Alfalfa Hay	26,000 acres harvested	$ 13,514,800
All Other Hay	8,000 acres harvested	$ 3,588,000
Alfalfa Seed	2,600 acres harvested	$ 2,015,000
Spring Wheat	n/a	n/a
Winter Wheat	1,100 acres harvested	$ 335,500
Barley	n/a	n/a
Cattle & Calves	26,000 head, January 1st inventory	$ 19,760,000
Sheep	9,000 head, January 1st inventory	$ 819,000
	TOTAL	$ 40,031,500
n/a data omitted to avoid disclosing individual information.

Table 3. Average Price Received / Amount Produced
Item	Amount ($) / UNIT	Production / Unit
Alfalfa Hay	113.00 / ton	4.6 tons / acre
All Other Hay	115.00 / ton	3.9 tons / acre
Alfalfa Seed	1.25 / pound	620 pounds / acre
Spring Wheat	n/a	n/a
Winter Wheat	3.05 / bushel	96 bushels / acre
Barley	n/a	n/a
Cattle & Calves	760.00 / head	n/a
Sheep	91.00 / head	n/a
n/a data omitted to avoid disclosing individual information.

Table 4. Characteristics of Farms by Size and Sales for Pershing County
Farms by Size	Number of Farms	Farms by Sales	Number of Farms
1 to 9 acres	5	Less than $2,500	20
10 to 49 acres	14	$2,500 to $4,999	9
50 to 179 acres	25	$5,000 to $9,999	12
180 to 499 acres	34	$10,000 to $24,999	16
500 to 999 acres	12	$25,000 to $49,999	14
1,000 acres or more	30	$50,000 to $99,999	20
Total Farms	120	$100,000 or more	30

Table 5. Pershing County Comparison with other Counties
County	Cash Receipts ($)	Rank	Number of Farms	Rank/th>	Average Farm Size (Acres)	Rank	Acres in Farm-Ranch	Rank
Carson	198,000	16	18	16	401	13	7224	15
Churchill	38,058,000	4	511	1	253	15	129,058	9
Clark	18,962,000	7	209	6	338	14	70,741	12
Douglas	8,796,000	11	156	7	579	10	90,372	10
Elko	49,228,000	3	402	2	7,103	1	2,855,472	1
Esmeralda	4,016,000	14	20	15	1,373	7	27,454	14
Eureka	13,133,000	9	84	12	2,559	5	214,966	7
Humboldt	57,315,000	1	218	5	3,364	3	733,418	2
Lander	12,794,000	10	76	13	6,935	2	486,017	4
Lincoln	7,317,000	12	121	9	404	12	48,897	13
Lyon	53,959,000	2	305	3	572	11	174,448	8
Mineral	1,809,000	15	37	14	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Nye	27,792,000	6	144	8	594	9	85,534	11
Pershing	32,679,000	5	120	10	995	8	119,435	5
Storey	N/A	17	8	17	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Washoe	13,247,000	8	285	4	2,709	4	772,115	3
White Pine	7,024,000	13	115	11	2,152	6	247,446	6

Published by: Breazeale, D., Owens, M., 2007, Pershing County Agricultural Statistics (2001 - 2002), Extension, University of Nevada, Reno, FS-03-07