Missouri, a national leader in agricultural production, ranks second in number of farms, ranks second in number of cattle operations and is among the top 10 in hay, soybeans, cotton, rice, watermelons and summer potato production.

The figures were available in latest issue of Missouri Farm Facts, available from the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

"Missouri is one of the most diverse agriculture states in the nation," said Sally Oxenhandler, MDA spokeswoman.

John L. Saunders, director of the MDA, which publishes Farms Facts in conjunction with the Missouri Agriculture Statistics Service, said the data underscore the vitality of the agriculture industry.

The latest statistics, said Saunders, are valuable tools for farmers, educators, agribusinesses and people in the agriculture industry.

The state produces about $4.5 billion worth of agricultural goods -- with about $1.2 billion of them exported.

"As we approach the 21st century, we must be armed with accurate, accessible information to compete effectively and efficiency," Saunders said. "Missouri's agriculture future continued to shine bright, but there are many challenges yet to tackle.:"

New estimates from the statistical service show the state has more than 105,000 farms, down from about 106,000 last year.

Missouri is second to Texas, which has more than 200,000 farms. Iowa has 100,000 farms. The country has 2 million farms.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said if current trends continue, that number could dwindle to 1.7 million farms by the year 2000

Farms have dwindled in a 22-county area of Southeast Missouri over the past decade, from 15,127 to 13,817. At the same time the average size of individual farms has increased by 30 acres.

The Southeast Missouri farm acreage has increased over the past decade, but only slightly, from 4.41 million to 4.44 million acres. The report shows 1,365 farms in Cape Girardeau County on 266,557 acres, for an average size of 195 acres a farm.

Bootheel farms, meanwhile, have some of the larger farms in the state. Of the 340 farms listed, the average farm in Mississippi County is 762 acres, in New Madrid County 695 acres, in Pemiscot County 653 acres and in Dunklin County 445 acres.

Missouri is second in the number of beef cows, at more than 2 million, with annual sales of beef cattle and calves at almost $1 billion. There are more than 62,000 beef cattle farms.

The average beef cow herd is 36, and the state has some 12 million acres of pasture and 3.5 million acres of hay. Every county in Southeast Missouri raises beef cattle, with about 25,000 head raised in Cape Girardeau County.

Farm field crops are big business in Southeast Missouri. Over the past three years Missouri farms have produced more than $4 billion in farm products, which include soybeans, corn, hay, cotton, grapes, apples, fruits and tobacco.

Soybeans are the state's largest cash crop. The production of beans thrive throughout the state, with more than 4 million acres. Four Southeast Missouri counties rank as the top four soybean counties.

In 1995, more than 5.2 million bushes of soybeans were harvested in Mississippi County, almost 5 million bushels in New Madrid County, 4.6 million bushels in Pemiscot County and more than 4.4 million bushels in Stoddard County.

Other big crops in Missouri include hay -- more than 3.5 million acres; corn, more than 2 million acres; cotton, about 350,000 acres; rice, more than 100,000 acres; summer potatoes, more than 8,000 acres. The potato yield ranges from 200 to 250 hundredweight an acre, resulting in an $8-to-$10-million-a-year industry.

Stoddard County was the states's top corn-producing county in 1995, with more than 12.7 million bushes. Also counted in the top counties were Mississippi (7.3 million bushels, Scott (6.9 million bushels and New Madrid (6.7 million bushels).

Stoddard, New Madrid and Pemiscot ranked as the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 counties last year in wheat. More than 95 percent of the state's cotton is raised in the Bootheel, led by Dunklin County last year, with more the 173,000 bales on 164,000 acres. New Madrid and Pemiscot counties ranked Nos. 2 and 3.

Farming provides a lot of employment. Missouri farm and farm-related employment accounts for more than 500,000 jobs. A fourth of the jobs -- almost 130,000 -- are in farm production.

The recent clear, warm weather has helped the harvest, with the corn harvest is all but completed in this area and about 50 percent complete statewide. Nearly all of the corn has been harvested across the entire southern third of the state.

Soybeans are developing at about the same rate as last year, but about one week behind normal. Some 83 percent of the crop had turned color, 55 percent was dropping leaves and 35 percent was mature. The report said 11 percent of the crop was harvested.

Some 81 percent of the sorghum crop had reached maturity, compared to 62 percent this time last year, and two days ahead of the five-year average. Thirty-one percent of the crop has been harvested.