Note: These documents are in Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format (PDF). If you need the Acrobat Reader, it is available for free from the Adobe web site.

QUALIFICATIONS OF DATA AND RANKINGS

Census data for the leading agricultural States and counties usually indicate agricultural areas of commercial importance. The leading counties usually account for a significant part of the U.S. total as shown by the cumulative statistics in each table. For certain specialty crops and fruits grown in a few areas, the leading counties account for nearly all the production. For other more widespread items, such as alfalfa hay and cattle and calves on farms, the leading counties account for a smaller proportion of the U.S. totals.

It is important to note that the rank of counties is based only on data for the census year. Unusual weather or economic conditions during 1997 may have had a significant effect on the ranking of counties for certain items in certain areas. A ranking of counties based on the average data for several years would undoubtedly show a number of differences in the rankings.

Occasionally the ranking of a county may be influenced by the assignment of all land, agricultural operations, and sales of farms with land in two or more counties to the county with the largest value of agricultural products raised or produced.