Quick Hits

Canada remained by far the state's largest export destination, and the products exported were again dominated by industrial machinery, such as motors and papermaking equipment.

Officials say the most significant change from 2003 was a 35.1 percent surge in exports to Mexico, which moved ahead of Japan to become the state's second-largest export market.

Home sales set record
Sales of existing homes in Wisconsin set a record in 2004, according to the Wisconsin Realtors Association. The statistics show 123,900 sales last year, up 4.8 percent from 118,200 in 2003, the previous record. Still another Wisconsin record was set for the fourth quarter of 2004 with 32,825 sales, up 8.8 percent from the previous year, the report said.

Farmland acreage down
The amount of farmland in Wisconsin dropped 0.6 percent in 2004 to 15.5 million acres, shrinking at a rate almost three times faster than the national average, the Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service reported. The number of farms in the state held steady in 2004 at 76,500, and the average farm size dropped slightly to 203 acres.

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