Agriculture Facts

 2.2 million farms dot America’s rural landscape. About 97 percent of U.S. farms are operated by families – individuals, family partnerships or family corporations.

 Farm and ranch families comprise just 2 percent of the U.S. population.

 More than 21 million American workers (15 percent of the total U.S. workforce) produce, process and sell the nation’s food and fiber.

 Today’s farmers produce 262 percent more food with 2 percent fewer inputs (labor, seeds, feed, fertilizer, etc.), compared with 1950.

 In 2010, $115 billion worth of American agricultural products were exported around the world. The United States sells more food and fiber to world markets than we import, creating a positive agricultural trade balance.