Fast facts about farms and farming

The agriculture industry provides the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the products we use on a daily basis. Plus, it’s responsible for producing essential U.S. exports and represents one of the most vital sectors of the American economy. Here are a few key facts about the farming industry in America.

• There are 2.1 million farms on U.S. soil. Most of them (99 percent) are operated by families — individual families, family partnerships and family corporations.

• Agriculture and its related industries account for 11 percent of U.S. employment. In 2017, 21.6 million full- and part-time jobs were related to the agricultural and food sectors.

• In 2016, $135.5 billion worth of American agricultural products were exported. The U.S. exports more food and fiber to the rest of the world than it imports.

• One U.S. farm feeds an average of 165 people each year. This number has increased by 25 people since the 1960s.

• Farmers only receive 15 cents out of every dollar we spend on food. The rest goes to the cost of things like production materials, food processing, wages, marketing, transportation and distribution. In 1980, this number was 31 cents for every dollar spent.

• Cattle, corn and dairy products are America’s top agricultural products. Other significant crops include soybeans, wheat, rice and cotton.

• The amount of corn produced in the U.S. has increased by 360 percent since 1950.

• The amount of feed a dairy cow needs to eat to produce 100 pounds of milk has decreased by more than 40 percent in the last 40 years.