farmers

Despite an unusually wet spring followed by an unusually cool June, America’s corn farmers planted even more than they did last year. U.S. farmers have planted 91.7 million acres of corn in 2019, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). That’s about 69 million football fields of corn and 3 percent more corn than last year, far more acres than the next largest crop, soybeans.

Every summer, families across the country turn their thoughts to vacation. Many will travel to South Dakota. Each year, approximately 3 million tourists from all over the world visit Mount Rushmore to experience the patriotic site. Millions more will enjoy the stunning views of Badlands National Park and abundant wildlife roaming through Custer State Park. But while South Dakota may be nicknamed The Mount Rushmore State, South Dakota always has been, and will continue to be, an agricultural state. Agriculture is the life-blood of South Dakota and the state’s No. 1 industry.

Since 1801, Tennessee’s motto has been “Agriculture and Commerce.” As we see in the latest Census of Agriculture results, our farmers do their part keep our motto alive, with agriculture remaining the number one industry in the state. In 2017, our state’s farmers and ranchers sold more than $3.8 billion in agricultural products.

In 2017, consumers in the United States spent $1.2 trillion on U.S.-produced food. Nearly all food starts out on a farm, but did you ever wonder how the value added from processing, packaging, transporting, and marketing agricultural food products factors into the costs?

Technology always changes the way we think and how we do things. Now, thanks to research at Michigan State University (MSU), farmers have a new tool to determine precisely where to focus their efforts… or not. The result can save them money and save the environment from excess – wasted – fertilizer.

At USDA, we celebrate Earth Day 2019 by offering big thank-yous to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners for all they do. Every day, we recognize their efforts to conserve natural resources while producing food, fiber, and fuel for people in their communities and around the world. They’re doing what needs to be done to make sure we all enjoy the benefits of clean and plentiful water and healthy soils, ecosystems, and wildlife habitat.

Illinois producers grow a LOT of corn and soybeans. The Prairie State ranked first in soybean production and second in corn production in 2017. But there is a great deal more agricultural production coming from the 72,000 farms located in our 102 counties. Illinois ranks first in horseradish acres and also first in pumpkin acres. Nearly 80 percent of those pumpkins are grown for processing and they turn into a whole lot of pumpkin pies.

Increasingly, food companies, environmental organizations, and agricultural commodity groups are setting ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from farms. These goals are realized through conservation practices such as reduced tillage farming, and precision technologies, like autosteer tractors. Yet, there’s not much nationally consistent data to help farmers and policymakers know which practices are being used, and how the adoption of those practices is changing over time.

Plunging his shovel into a wheat field covered in soybean residue, Gary Hula hefts up a mound of crumbly soil with a grin. The county is under moderate drought and it’s just above freezing outside, but the soil in his shovel is full of moisture and riddled with worm holes—sure signs of healthy soil.

Americans love Thanksgiving and all of the food that goes along with it. Who can blame us when the food is high quality and delicious? Roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and yeah, rivers of pumpkin spice latte will flow this season, warming hearts and filling bellies across our great country.