American Farmers and Their Contributions
Agriculture is one of the first foundations of American society and has played a key role in North American history. Today, farmers play a vital role in the U.S. economy, providing food for domestic consumption and agricultural products for international exports. Agricultural products are found on dinner tables, in clothing, in medicine, and in the country's financial markets. Farmers not only provide food supply but also provide a lot of job opportunities. Therefore, we need to understand agriculture and the contribution of farmers and respect their work.
According to data collected by CouponBirds, in 2021, there were just over 2 million farms in the United States. However, the number of farms has been steadily declining since 2007, when there were about 2.2 million farms in the United States. In 2007, the average farm size in the United States was the smallest since 2000. As the number of farms in the United States has decreased, the average size of farms has increased.
According to Carolina Demography, there are about 3 million farm workers in the United States: almost 2 million are family farm workers, and another 1 million are hired, farm workers. Nationally, the majority of employed farm workers (81 percent) are "settled," meaning they work in a location within 75 miles of their home.
The development of agricultural technology has led to changes in the agricultural sector, resulting in higher agricultural output despite decreases in land and labor devoted to agriculture. A single farm in the United States can now feed 166 people annually, both domestically and abroad. In 2020, the agriculture, food, and related industries sector contributed 5.0% or $1.055 trillion to theU.S. GDP, with farm output contributing 134.7 billion or approximately 0.6% of the GDP.
The agriculture and food sector also provides employment opportunities, with 19.7 million full- and part-time jobs, accounting for 10.3% of total U.S. employment. Despite directly employing 2.6 million people or 1.4% of U.S. employment, agriculture creates an additional 17.1 million jobs in related industries such as food and beverage manufacturing, dining establishments, and food/beverage stores.
As an essential industry, agriculture contributes to everyone's life, and farmers' hard work is significant in providing food for society. People should respect the efforts of farmers, and reducing food waste can be the greatest form of respect, especially during times of inflation.
References
1. Carolina Demography, “Counting farmworkers in the 2020 Census”.
2. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, “Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy”.
