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Farming by the numbersArkansas Consumers and producers who want to learn about farm policy in the United States have a new source, according to Dr. Bobby Coats, professor and economist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. There are many sources for information, including extension's website at www.uaex.edu and www.aragriculture.org. The FarmPolicyFacts.org Web site offers information from a coalition of farmers and commodity groups created to educate Congress and Americans about agriculture's contribution to the economy, Coats said. For those who love statistics, the site includes a "Fact of the Day." Items that have appeared on the site include: --98 percent of U.S. farms are run by families and less than 2 percent are corporate farms. --Family farms produce 86 percent of America's food and fiber. --U.S. consumers spend just 10 percent of their income on food, which is the lowest percentage in the world. --Today's farmer provides food and fiber for 144 people, which is up from just 19 people in 1940. --For every dollar Americans spend on food, farmers receive 20 cents. --There are 6.5 billion people on the planet, and the world's population will reach 8 billion by 2025. --There were 13.4 percent more women farmers in 2002 than in 1997, according to the 2002 Ag Census. --Agricultural land provides habitat for 75 percent of the nation's wildlife. --Japanese grocery shoppers spend 26 percent of their incomes on food while Americans only spend 10 percent, thanks to farm policy. --The Bureau of Engraving and Printing depends on farmers to produce paper currency--75 percent of every bill is made of cotton. For more information about Arkansas' agricultural economy and to hear Coats' weekly Podcasts, visit www.uaex.edu. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
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