Agriculture in the United States
Agriculture is a major industry in the United States and the country is a net exporter of food.
History of agriculture in the USA
In the United States, farms spread from the colonies westward along with the settlers. In cooler regions, wheat was the crop of choice when lands were newly settled, leading to a "wheat frontier" that moved westward over the course of years. After the "wheat frontier" had passed through an area, more diversified farms including dairy cattle generally took its place. Warmer regions saw plantings of cotton and herds of beef cattle.
Soybeans were not widely cultivated in the United States until the 1950s, when soybean acres began to replace oats and wheat acres.
"Sodbuster" and "Swampbuster" restrictions written into federal farm programs starting in the 1970s reversed a decades-long trend of habitat destruction that began in 1942 when farmers were encouraged to plant all possible acreage in support of the war effort. In the United States, federal programs administered through local Soil and Water Conservation Districts provide technical assistance and partial funding to farmers who wish to implement management practices to conserve soil and limit erosion.
Crops
The major field crops with the value of production (in $billions) are:
- Corn,$24.4
- Soybean,$17.7
- Wheat,$8.6
- Alfalfa,$8.3
- Cotton,$6.1
- Hay, other than alfalfa, $5.1
- Tobacco,$3.0
- Rice, $1.7
- Sorghum,$1.4
- Barley,$.9
Source: 1997 USDA-NASS reports, http://www.usda.gov/nass/pubs/ranking/rankus-b.txt. *=data not available. Fruits, vegetables, and nut crops excluded.
Livestock
The major livestock industries in the United States are:
Inventories in the United States at the end of 1997 were:
- 403,000,000 chickens
- 99,500,000 cattle
- 59,900,000 hogs
- 7,600,000 sheep
Goats, horses, turkeys and bees are also raised, though in lesser quantities. Inventory data is not as readily available as for the major industries. For the three major goat-producing states (AZ, NM, and TX) there were 1,200,000 goats at the end of 2002. There were 5,300,000 horses in the United States at the end of 1998. There were 2,500,000 colonies of bees at the end of 2002.
Governance
Agriculture is both a federal and a local repsonsibility with the United States Department of Agriculture being the federal department responsible. The US pays massive subsidies to its farmers which allows them to compete with the rest of the world, despite much higher costs. Agriculture is an extremely powerful interest group in American politics.
Referenced By
Department of Agriculture | U.S.D.A. | U.S. Department of Agriculture | USDA | US Department of Agriculture | United States Department of Agriculture
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