I’m always interested in the USDA’s charts displaying food and agriculture statistics.  They help to clarify complicated issues. Agricultural trade is particularly opaque, but here it is at a glance. First, what the US exports: Next, what we import: What so bizarre here is that the

The USDA announced the latest data on the US agricultural system in a press release.  It summarizes the highlights: Number of farms: 1.9 million (down 7% from 2017) Average size: 463 acres (up 5%) Total farmland: 880 million acres of farmland (down 2%), accounting for 39% of all U.S. land.

Every now and then I run across a report about something I know absolutely nothing about but wish I did, and this is one of them—an analysis from the University of California on Sample Costs to Produce and Harvest Romaine Hearts Lettuce. I’m particularly interested in Romaine because it is one of

A post on X (the site formerly known as Twitter) displayed this graph. It comes from a policy report published on FarmDocDaily: Concentration of US Principal Crop Acres in Corn and Soybeans. The bottom line: 30% of harvested acres is devoted to corn, and another 30% to soybeans. These, of

US Corn Crop Deteriorates After Midwest Hit By Worst Drought In Decades Farmers in Corn Belt states have been very concerned about their crops this spring as drought expands across the Heartland. The latest weekly report from the US Department of Agriculture shows the US corn crop