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We are often asked to describe how U.S. agriculture has changed over the years -- specifically, how does American agriculture compare today with the industry during the 1950's? Most of us have a general idea of how it has changed. But there is no one publication with data to describe this change. In response to your requests, we have searched through several publications and are offering a summary of available data for your use.

Often some type data is available for less than all years in the decade. Consequently, some data describes, in general, what took place during the decades in question. Other data, while specific to one year, can be used for the same purpose.
 

U. S. Agricultural Statistics
Item	1950's	1990's
Farm Numbers	5,400,000	2,000,000
Land in Farms	1,158,000,000 acres	979,000,000 acres
Farm Residents	23,000,000	4,700,000
-- % of Population	16%	1.8%
Persons fed per Farmer	17	132
Average Size Farm	215 acres	473 acres
Value of Land & Bldgs. (/ A.)	$65	$684
Gross Farm Income	$33,083,000,000 ('50)	$197,700,000,000 ('94)
Farm Debt	$10,900,000,000 ('50)	$198,600,000,000 ('92)
Farm Assets	$174,200,000,000 ('50)	$861,500,000,000 ('92)
Tractors on Farms	604,686	4,467,000
Grain Combines on Farms	714,000	667,000
Irrigated Land	29,600,000 acres ('54)	46,400,000 acres ('87)
Expenditures for Food	$61.4 bil.	$528.1 bil.
% of Income Spent for Food	17.7%	11.2%
Farm Share of Food Dollar	40%	22%

U. S. Agricultural Statistics (cont')
Item	1950's	1990's
U. S. Prices Paid
Tractor (30 - 40 hp)	$2,500	$13,700
½ Ton Truck	$2,200	$16,500
Ammonium Nitrate	$85 / Ton	$180 / Ton
Combine	$5,500	$110,000
Tractor (50 - 60 hp)	----	$30,000
Tractor (70 - 90 hp)	----	$55,000
Cotton Picker	----	$190,000
Hamburger (lb.)	$0.50	$1.60
Milk (quart)	$0.20	$0.70
Cigarettes (pack)	$0.20	$2.10
Cotton Work Shirt	$2.00
Loaf of Bread (white; 1 lb.)	$0.16	$0.75
Indices
Commodity Prices Received (1910-14 = 100)	258 ('50)	637 ('92)
Prices Paid for Farm Production Items (1910-14 = 100)	274 ('50)	1,006 ('92)
Farm Output (1982 = 100)	71 ('70)	110 ('91)
Percent of Personal Expenditures on Food, Beverages, Tobacco
United States	---	11.2%
United Kingdom	---	21.8%
Korea	---	35.3%
Philippines	---	57.7%

Where does the consumer's food dollar go? The major costs are:

1. Labor - 36 cents

2. Farm Value- 22 cents

3. Interest, Taxes, Other- 10 cents

4. Packaging- 8 cents

5. Transportation- 4.5 cents

6. Advertising- 4 cents.
 

What's behind the lowered percentage of the consumers food dollar going to the farmer? It's the demand for convenience. Working parents, single workers and others have increased demands for convenience. All are looking to reduce the time and energy needed to shop, cook and serve meals. Ready-to-cook items are more numerous in grocery stores. Chilled, stuffed, marinated or sauced meat items are gaining favor. Similar preparations apply to soups, nuts, salads and side items.
 

And the same goes for food eaten away from home. Most spending growth for food in recent years is food eaten away from home. Spending for food at home is relatively flat. Spending for food eaten away from home increased 66% from 1985 to 1995. When adjusted for inflation, this is only a 18% hike.
 

Increased productivity enables America's farmers to produce more food on the same amount of land. U.S. agricultural production as a percentage of total world food production in 1993 was: Wheat - 11.6%; Corn - 36.3%; Soybeans - 44.8%; Cotton - 19.6%; and Tobacco - 8.5%.
 

In the 1950's, a farmers worked 10-14 hours on two acres of land to produce 100 bushels of corn with a small tractor and small equipment. Today only 2 ½ hours and one acre of land, and large equipment can produce 100 bushels of corn. Further, more precise use of proper fertilizers and other additives have contributed to this increased efficiency.
 

Georgia Agricultural Statistics
Item	1950's	1990's
Farm Numbers	165,000	43,000
Land in Farms	24,019,000 acres	11,800,000 acres
% of Land in Farms	64%	28%
Average Size Farm	145 acres	274 acres
Value Land & Bldgs. (/A.)	$60 ('55)	$1,256 ('95)
Farm Residents	962,431	80,083
- % of Population	27.9%	1.2%
Gross Farm Income	$642,930,000	$6,671,145,000
Mules on Farms	218,000	----
Horses on Farms	39,000	----

Georgia Agricultural Statistics (contd.)
	Yield		Price
Commodity	1950's	1990's	1950's	1990's
Cotton	359 lbs.	700 lbs.	$0.33	$0.67
Corn	25 bu.	92 bu.	$1.20	$2.90
Tobacco	1,450 lbs.	2,200 lbs.	$0.50	$1.70
Peanuts	1,000 lbs.	2,400 lbs.	$0.11	$0.29
Soybeans	12 bu.	24 bu.	$2.25	$6.10

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