National Agriculture Week, March 20-26, is devoted to educating people about where food, fiber, and fuel come from.
The week begins Sunday with National Ag Day designated Tuesday, March 22.
Every year, producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies, and others join together to recognize the contributions of agriculture. National Ag Day falls during National Agriculture Week.
Farm Facts
According to most recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics, 386,531 men are working as farmers and ranchers.
Additionally, 51,865 women are working as farmers and ranchers.
Today, a farmer grows twice as much food as his parents did – using less land, energy, water, and fewer emissions.
Today, the average U.S. farmer feeds 155 people. In 1960, a farmer fed just 26 people.
To keep up with population growth, more food will have to be produced in the next 50 years than the past 10,000 years combined.
U.S. farmers produce about 40 percent of the world’s corn, using only 20 percent of the total area harvested in the world.
According to the USDA, one acre of corn removes about 8 tons of carbon dioxide from the air in a growing season. At180 bushels per acre, corn produces enough oxygen to supply a year’s needs for 131 people. History
The week-long celebration is organized each year by the Agriculture Council of America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the public’s awareness of agriculture’s role in modern society.