February 8, 2001

By Mark Phelan

The statistics make it clear: Agriculture is big business in Coles Co.

I am often times asked by different interests how big the agriculture industry is in Coles County .

I believe that most people in our county recognize the importance of our industry but don't look at the details and its impact within the county .Let me share some facts I have gathered from the Illinois Agricultural Statistics.

Coles County contains 256,974 acres of agricultural land, with 193 farms averaging more than 500 acres, 307 farms averaging 50-499 acres, and 181 farms averaging up to 49 acres, for a total of627 total farms.

The average value of land and buildings is estimated at $2,373 per acre, or nearly $610 million.

Coles County farmers produced more than 16 million bushels of corn and 4.9 million bushels of soybeans in 1999.

The average yields in 1999 were 141/acre for corn and 44/acre for soybeans, and the average price for corn was $2.05 and beans were $4.95. In the live- stock area it is estimated that there were 9,000 heads of hogs and 6,300 heads of cattle.

Coles County had total cash receipts from total farm marketing of just more than $58 million, which is down $11.5 million from 1998, or an average of $18,340 per farm. The average of farm production expenses per farm, including crops and livestock, was $62,385.

Production agriculture is an important industry generating significant economic support and revenue for Coles County . In fact, I believe you would be quite overwhelmed when you consider all the other businesses related to or reliant upon agricultural commodities - businesses such as grocery suppliers and wholesalers; local elevators; agriculture supply companies; restaurants; banks;  contractors; construction and interior decorators for adhesives, lumber and such; cellular services; equipment dealers; farm supply; hospitals and physicians; insurance providers; newspaper and printers; and many more. In fact, every business relies on agriculture in some way or another.

It is important for Coles County to maintain and support an economics environment that is conducive to a viable agricultural industry. Agriculture is a huge industry for Coles County. Every effort needs to be made to ensure that the agricultural industry remains productive and all economic opportunities supporting agriculture are considered.

Mark Phelan is the manager of the Coles County Farm Bureau.