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Friday, March
18, 2005
Ag has a big impact on nation
Most
people have difficulty grasping the impact
agriculture has on the United States. They have an
intuitive notion that there are lots of farms and
ranches “out there” but they really don’t know how
big agriculture is.
So how big is it?
Using information from the 2002 Census of
Agriculture, if you were to combine the areas of
all of the farms and ranches in the country, they
would cover the five largest states – Alaska,
Texas, California, Montana and New Mexico, and
most of the sixth largest state, Arizona.
If you were to add up the market value of all of
the crops and livestock produced annually, it
would equal $207 billion, more than General Motors
had in total sales last year.
If you were to add up all of the people who
operate farms and ranches, it would equal 2.1
million – more than the population of Houston,
Texas, the fourth-largest city in the nation and
more than the populations of Philadelphia, Chicago
or Boston.
And those numbers don’t even include the many
related businesses that benefit from agriculture,
from fertilizer, pesticide and seed dealers to
farm machinery manufacturers to grocery stores and
restaurants.
Agriculture has a huge impact on the United
States, and as soon as Americans embrace that
fact, maybe the industry will get the respect it
deserves.
Next week is National Ag Week, and it’s an
opportune time for farmers and ranchers to get
their stories out. Around the nation, members of
the agricultural community are converging on state
capitols and the U.S. Capitol to remind
policy-makers and the public that farming and
ranching make a difference economically,
environmentally, politically and socially.
This great nation was founded by farmers 229 years
ago. Since then, the United States and agriculture
have remained inextricably linked. As goes
agriculture, so goes the nation.
Today it is common for Americans to misunderstand
agriculture.
“Just a few generations ago, most people were part
of – and had friends and relatives involved in
agriculture,” said California Assembly Member
Barbara Matthews, a Democrat who represents
Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.
“While approximately 14 percent of the jobs in
California are still related to agriculture,
either through cultivation, processing,
transportation or sale, the industry’s public
benefit often goes unnoticed during the course of
our daily lives.”
Across the West, the story of agriculture is the
same. More than 200 crops are grown in this
fertile region of the nation, making it one of the
largest and most productive agricultural regions
in the world.
America’s farmers and ranchers are doing so many
things right. They are stewards of the land, and
they are an integral part of the fabric of this
great nation.
The next time every American sits down to a meal,
he or she should take a close look what’s on the
table – and who put it there. It represents the
bounty that American’s farms and ranches produce.
In a very real sense, every day is Ag Day in
America.
BY THE NUMBERS
10: The percentage of Americans’ incomes that goes
toward food.
16: The percentage of individuals’ incomes in
Finland that goes toward food, the next-lowest
percentage.
144: The number of people who are fed and clothed
by a single American farmer.
99: The percentage of all farms owned by families
and family corporations.
2.1 million: The number of American farms today.
6.8 million: The number of American farms in 1935.
26.1 billion: Total annual agricultural cash
receipts, in dollars, for California, the largest
farm state.
92: The percentage of young farmers and ranchers
who use computers.
55: The average age of American farmers.
236,269: The number farms operated by women.
117.7: The number of pounds of beef the average
American eats annually.
66.2: The number of pounds of poultry the average
American eats annually.
29.8: The number of pounds of cheese the average
American eats annually.
195.7: The number of pounds of flour and cereal
the average American eats annually.
20.2: The number of pounds of rice the average
American eats annually.
251.1: The number of eggs the average American
eats annually.
– American Farm Bureau Federation
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