Cyndi's Two Cents

Our wisest pursuit

Daylight Savings Time has begun, St. Paddy’s Day is in the rear view, and it is officially springtime.  And (drum roll) it is National Agriculture Week!  I have found that it is handy to have a few good nuggets of information about agriculture in my hip pocket because you never know when they might come in handy to educate a friend, family member or stranger. And it is important for those of us who live and work in agriculture to keep ourselves informed about this ever-changing industry.

The American Farm Bureau Foundation publishes a Food and Farm Facts book that contains some interesting facts.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture and its many agencies have information and facts readily available at the USDA website.  Most state departments of agriculture offer up some notable facts on their websites. Beef2Live.com has some excellent fun facts about agriculture as well!

Here are just a few of my favorite shareable nuggets:

• One U.S. farm feeds 166 people annually in the U.S. and abroad.
• Illinois produces enough corn annually to fill a train of box cars that stretches more than 7,600 miles.
• 25% of all farmers are beginning farmers (in business less than 10 years); their average age is 46.
• The average American household spends 13% of its disposable income on food, compared to 32.8 % for housing and 17.1% for transportation.
• Farm and ranch families comprise less than 2% of the population.
• Americans consume on average 49.4 pounds of potatoes and 31.4 pounds of tomatoes per person.
• The average American farm is 444 acres.
• 86% of U.S. ag products sold are produced on family farms or ranches.
• About 11% of U.S. farmers are serving or have served in the military.
• About 98% of U.S. farms are operated by families – individuals, family partnerships or family corporations.
• Indiana leads the nation in duck production.
• Agriculture employs over 24 million Americans.

And just for fun:

• Henry Ford thought soybeans were the future; He had his engineers develop a plastic that used soybeans for the frames of his cars in 1935.
• One acre of soybeans can produce 82,368 crayons.
• One bushel of corn will sweeten more than 400 cans of Coca-Cola,
• There are about 800 kernels in 16 rows on each ear of corn.
• The pig was one of the first animals to be domesticated over 6,000 years ago.
• The Chinese were the first to raise wild pigs for food.
• Adult pigs can run at speeds of up to 11mph (a seven-minute mile.)
• Sheep have rectangular pupils and excellent peripheral vision.
• There are approximately 900 different species of sheep in the world.
• A cow has 32 teeth.
• Cows can sleep while standing up.
• In 1954, the number of tractors on farms surpassed the number of horses and mules for the first time.

Thomas Jefferson wrote to George Washington in 1787:

“Agriculture … is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals & happiness.”