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Top crops in Rowan: hay and soybeans

Friday, February 25, 2011 12:00 AM | Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend |

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A machine harvests barley from a field in Rowan County. Submitted photo.

Even though Rowan County is technically an urban county, its roots are in traditional agriculture.

It’s a $62 million industry with small grains, corn, field crops and animal agriculture as its agricultural backbone.

Below are a few Rowan County agricultural statistics:

• 983 farms in Rowan County;

• 115,942 acres now in farming;

• 35 percent of land mass in Rowan County is some type of farming operation;

• 118 acres is the average size of a farm; state average is 418 acres;

• 57 — the average age of a Rowan County farmer;

• 11,114 acres in the Voluntary Agricultural District.

• 1,400 acres of barley — ranked first in the state;

• 18,000 acres of hay production — ranked fifth in state;

• 1,300 acres for corn silage — ranked eighth in state;

• 17,000 acres of soybeans;

• 7,400 acres of grain corn;

• 6,400 acres of wheat;

• 300 acres of cotton;

• 300-plus trellised tomatoes and the largest grower in North Carolina (Patterson Farms);

• 1,700 dairy cattle;

• 8,200 beef cattle;

• 221 commercial pesticide applicators.

• 219 private pesticide applicators.

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