#Food-system

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.

Here’s my third Who Knew post of the week, this one an at-a-glance explanation of what’s wrong with the US food system, courtesy of FarmDocDaily. In 1980 or so, corn and soybeans comprised about 20% each of total crop acreage.  Now it’s 30% each. To bring this point home: Recall that more