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Lately, there has been many threads talking about the agricultural statistics of various states. Well, after digging a full 5 minutes, I found some interesting statistics about agriculture in the United States.
ERS/USDA Data - Farm Income
Total Value of United States Agriculture in 2008:
$324,186,533,000,000 (that is $324 billion dollars)
1. California: $36,186,785,000,000, or 11.2% of US total
2. Iowa: $24,752,867,000,000 or 7.6% of US total
3. Texas: $19,172,500,000,000 or 5.9% of US total
4. Nebraska: $17,315,688,000,000 or 5.3% of US total
5. Illinois: $16,356,790,000,000 or 5.0% of US total
6. Minnesota: $15,838,094,000,000 or 4.9% of US total
7. Kansas: $13,967,496,000,000 or 4.3% of US total
8. Indiana: $9,961,850,000,000 or 3.1% of US total
9. Wisconsin: $9,885,557,000,000 or 3.0% of US total
10. North Carolina: $9,752,796,000,000 or 3.0% of US total
Top 10 States combined = 53.3% of United States agricultural output!
Top 10 States in terms of agricultural diversity (which states grow the most types of things and is least likely to be a one or two crop agricultural economy: ROW AC in http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FarmInc...0forStates.XLS)
1. Hawaii: 47.6% share for the top 10 commodities
2. California: 64.9% share for the top 10 commodities
3. Louisiana: 71.8% share for the top 10 commodities
4. New Jersey: 75.3% share for the top 10 commodities
5. Florida: 76.2% share for the top 10 commodities
6. Oregon: 77.1% share for the top 10 commodities
7. Massachusetts: 79.6% share for the top 10 commodities
8. Washington: 79.8% share for the top 10 commodities
9. Alaska: 80.6% share for the top 10 commodities
10. Virginia: 81.5% share for the top 10 commodities
5% of the states's population (who live on a farm) are responsible for 7% of our country's output. Numerically that's 150,000 people feeding 23,500,000.
5% of the states's population (who live on a farm) are responsible for 7% of our country's output. Numerically that's 150,000 people feeding 23,500,000.
I never realized how far and ahead Iowa was ahead of their farming neighbors until read these statistics. They even produce more than all the cattle-ranchers in Texas combined! That's very impressive
I can't say there are very many surprises for California, but one usually wouldn't think of California as a farming state but rather some weird hybrid of Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
Is there something particularly special about Iowa that makes it way more fertile than its neighbors?
Is there something particularly special about Iowa that makes it way more fertile than its neighbors?
Glaciated loess soils that are excellent for growing corn and soybeans. Consistent rainfall compared to the Plains states is a big advantage for yields.
Really surprised to see Iowa up there since it is a relatively small state [must farm every piece of land]. Aside from California it appears the Midwest is truly the bread basket for America [also Texas]. I thought Florida would have been in top 10.
Really surprised to see Iowa up there since it is a relatively small state [must farm every piece of land]. Aside from California it appears the Midwest is truly the bread basket for America [also Texas]. I thought Florida would have been in top 10.
The area that ended up becoming Iowa was basically the perfect combination for growing. The state was covered for the most part by tall praire grasses as opposed to having forests, rock, uneven terrain, etc.
Those grasses would grow thick and tall, die, decompose, grow again, die, decompose, etc. After tens of thousands of years of this, all that decomposed material make incredibly rich, deep, black soil. Some of the best on a planet. Couple that with a climate of excellent and stable rainfall, lots of sun and a decent growing season, and you get really high yields.
Farms cover something like 92% of the state's land area - even though currently only 5-6% of the population lives directly on a farm compared to much higher levels in the past. Due to technology, farms need FAR less people than they did in the past. Most younger people are moving to cities within and outside of the state. The urban population is shooting up, while the rural population is dipping ever smaller. I go through small towns in Iowa, and it's really obvious the number of older people compared to how many younger you see. You can tell lots of those towns are going to fade away within a few decades, while areas like Des Moines/Iowa City/Cedar Rapids are ever growing and taking the spotlight.
Well, here's another more darker side of the agricultural economy that people don't think about; here's a list of states with the most threatened farmland. Most of these are actually very very surprising.
Top 10 States losing prime farmland to urban sprawlby rate(using 1997 data, but hasn't had a study done on since)
1. Texas
2. Ohio
3. Georgia
4. North Carolina
5. Illinois
6. Pennsylvania
7. Indiana
8. Tennessee
9. Michigan
10. Alabama
To keep in mind though, farmland in most of the United States is threatened by sprawl. Nearly everyone is affected by it, but its these states that have been accelerating the trend in the past 15-20 years. Check out this map:
Well, here's another more darker side of the agricultural economy that people don't think about; here's a list of states with the most threatened farmland. Most of these are actually very very surprising.
Top 10 States losing prime farmland to urban sprawlby rate(using 1997 data, but hasn't had a study done on since)
1. Texas
2. Ohio
3. Georgia
4. North Carolina
5. Illinois
6. Pennsylvania
7. Indiana
8. Tennessee
9. Michigan
10. Alabama
To keep in mind though, farmland in most of the United States is threatened by sprawl. Nearly everyone is affected by it, but its these states that have been accelerating the trend in the past 15-20 years. Check out this map:
Texas has an advantage over those states though due to large amount of land. We can sprawl more.
While that may be true, much of Texas agriculture is centered around cattle ranching which needs a lot of land in order for the cattle to range on. Chickens do as well, but not to the same extent.
Cotton has a huge problem of depleting a soil of its nutrients after its planted, so its commonly rotated with other crops to restore some, but not all nutrients. This is why much of the South isn't as valuable as farm land as it once was.
Most of West Texas and Panhandle Texas is either too mountainous or too far from a reliable water source to farm on. The area around Dallas is used for corn and wheat, and can't be grown elsewhere in Texas.
Someone from Texas can probably show me better. Texas is basically the US' steakhouse, and I love my red meat I'd hate for it to disappear.
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