The first care of the settlers who came to this area in the early 1800s, was to till the virgin soil to provide for their families. And the first crops were planted in the oak openings, small clearings in the timber, chief among these included wheat and potatoes.
Once they produced enough for their own needs, then the surplus began to generate revenue in money. Clearing more land, the farms fields began to increase in size with each year.
The raising of cattle and sheep was never carried on with as great an importance here, as in other parts of the State of Michigan. In a report of the secretary of the Shiawassee Agricultural Society for 1854, it is stated that a full-blood Devon bull was introduced into the county as early as 1837, by L. Lyman of Shiawassee Township. Many others also brought into this county pure-blood bulls and cows, which improved the stock greatly over the next few years.
The report also mentioned many flocks of very fine imported Spanish and French Merino and Saxony sheep were exhibited at the county fair.
The development of the agricultural interests of Shiawassee County is shown below by the statisics taken from census returns of the year indicated.
............................................1840......................................1860 .....................................1874
Number of Cattle......2,143....8,427..18,920
Number of Sheep....375..19,379..N/A
Number of Swine.....3,807.5,156..8,132
Tons of Hay cut.....502..12,57929,667
Bushels of wheat produced................................19,584...101,100...463,412
Pounds of Wool..............583.....46,770....186,277
Number of Farms.................892............................2,812
Total Cash Value of Farms
................$1,957,834
Total Value of Livestock...................$336,724
.
| POPULATION | ||
| Number of Households |
Total Population | |
| 1995 | na | 72,079 |
| 1990 | 24,769 | 69,770 |
| 1980 | 23,359 | 71,140 |
| 1970 | 18,581 | 63,075 |
| 1960 | 15,432 | 53,446 |
| LABOR FORCE | ||
| Item | 1995 | 1990 |
| Total Labor Force | 35,400 | 35,025 |
| Employment | 32,975 | 31,500 |
| Manufacturing | 4,275 | 4,625 |
| Construction | 675 | 625 |
| Private | 10,475 | 9,150 |
| Government | 3,750 | 3,750 |
| Unemployment | 2,425 | 3,500 |
| Unemployment Rate % | 6.9 | 10 |
| FARM INCOME AND EXPENSES | ||||
| Item | 1994 | 1990 | 1980 | 1970 |
| $1,000 | ||||
| INCOME | 56,216 | 58,041 | 57,683 | 22,129 |
| Livestock & Products | 22,124 | 22,758 | 24,173 | 10,874 |
| Crops | 26,359 | 26,008 | 28,617 | 6,308 |
| Government Payments | 1,391 | 2,978 | 265 | 1,744 |
| Other Income | 6,342 | 6,297 | 4,628 | 3,203 |
| EXPENSES | 58,190 | 57,696 | 50,825 | 16,555 |
| Feed Purchased | 4,047 | 3,491 | 3,486 | 1,789 |
| Livestock Purchased | 1,851 | 1,876 | 2,029 | 1,277 |
| Seed Purchased | 2,911 | 2,370 | 1,906 | 426 |
| Fertilizer, Lime & Chemicals1 | 8,709 | 7,446 | 6,553 | 1,707 |
| Other Production Expenses | 40,672 | 42,513 | 36,851 | 11,356 |
| NET INCOME | -1,974 | 345 | 6,858 | 5,574 |
| FARMS AND FARM SIZE | ||||||
| Census Year |
Number of Farms3 |
Number of Farms over $10,000 in sales |
Average Farm Size (acres) |
Land in Farms (acres) |
Total Cropland (acres) |
Average age of Farmer (years) |
| 1992 | 1,086 | 580 | 218 | 236,799 | 204,715 | 52.9 |
| 1987 | 1,160 | 572 | 207 | 240,357 | 203,050 | 51.2 |
| 1982 | 1,386 | 692 | 176 | 244,318 | 203,254 | 49.3 |
| Change from 1982 to 1992 | ||||||
| Net Change | -300 | -112 | 42 | -7,519 | 1,461 | 3.6 |
| % Change | -22 | -16 | 24 | -3 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 Chemicals not included in 1970. | 2 Less than $50,000 | |||||
| 3 A farm is any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year. | 4 Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual farms. | |||||
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| CROP | 1995 Rank | HARVESTED ACRES | PRODUCTION | VALUE OF PRODUCTION | ||||||
| 1995 | 1990 | 1985 | 1995 | 1990 | 1985 | 1995 | 1990 | 1985 | ||
| 1,000 | 1,000 | $1,000 | ||||||||
| Barley, BU | -- | -- | 0.5 | 0.4 | -- | 24 | 29 | -- | 40 | 59 |
| Beans, Dry, All, CWT | 30 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 9 | 24 | 39 | 158 | 437 | 578 |
| Beans, Dry, Navy, CWT | -- | -- | 1.0 | 1.8 | -- | 14 | 20 | -- | -- | -- |
| Beans, Dry, Other, CWT | -- | -- | 0.6 | -- | -- | 10 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Corn for grain, BU | 23 | 45.5 | 41.0 | 53.3 | 5,030 | 4,300 | 5,148 | 16,096 | 9,503 | 11,017 |
| Corn for Silage, TONS | 24 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 6.4 | 58 | 53 | 81 | -- | -- | -- |
| Hay, TONS | 25 | 16.5 | -- | -- | 80 | -- | -- | 5,120 | -- | -- |
| Oats, BU | 11 | 1.8 | 10.0 | 14.5 | 115 | 465 | 1,108 | 190 | 563 | 1,296 |
| Potatoes, CWT | -- | -- | 0.3 | 0.3 | -- | 75 | 62 | -- | 495 | 273 |
| Soybeans, BU | 6 | 83.3 | 74.0 | 62.0 | 2,940 | 2,630 | 1,745 | 19,404 | 14,807 | 8,603 |
| Wheat for grain, BU | 10 | 23.7 | 31.5 | 28.5 | 1,350 | 1,765 | 1,800 | 5,535 | 4,236 | 5,112 |
|
| |||||||
| SPECIES | 1995
RANK |
INVENTORY | VALUE OF PRODUCTION | ||||
| 1995 | 1990 | 1985 | 1995 | 1990 | 1985 | ||
| 1,000 | $1,000 | ||||||
| All Cattle and Calves, Jan 1, 1996 | 24 | 19.5 | 21.0 | 26.5 | 9,750 | 14,910 | 17,490 |
| Milk Cows, Jan 1, 1996 | 18 | 6.4 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 7,360 | 7,526 | 7,503 |
| Beef Cows, Jan 1, 1996 | 30 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.3 | -- | -- | -- |
| Milk Production, MIL LBS | 21 | 102.0 | 100.0 | 111.0 | 13,260 | 14,000 | 14,130 |
| All Hogs & Pigs, Dec 1 | 27 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 14.0 | 780 | 1,104 | 966 |
| Sows Farrowed, Dec 1 | 26 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 2.4 | -- | -- | -- |
| All Sheep & Lambs, Jan 1, 1996 | 9 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 207 | 185 | 123 |
| Hens and Pullets of Laying Age, Dec 1 | 18 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 27.0 | -- | -- | -- |
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| VEGETABLE | TOTAL | FRESH MARKET | PROCESSING | |||
| Farms | Planted Acres | Farms | Planted
Acres |
Farms | Planted
Acres | |
| All Vegetables | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
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| Crop | Farms | Acres | Item | Operations | Acres |
| All Fruit | -- | -- | Nurseries | 16 | 250 |
| Christmas Trees | 6 | 160 | |||