apples

Have you ever wondered how new looking and different tasting types of apples or tomatoes come to be? Improvements in taste, size, and color are often the result of years of research and plant breeding efforts. Many times, plant breeders search for traits in older varieties of plants to create new varieties that could be useful today, but not widely grown.

What do apples, beef and cheese have in common? These ABCs are all favorites with children and they are all a part of the USDA Foods program thanks to collaborative partnerships between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and American farmers and businesses.

Considering the many different types of apples we see at farmers markets and supermarkets, it may be hard to believe that apple trees are not as diverse as they should be. But it isn’t the fruit-bearing part of the apple tree that’s the problem, it’s the apple tree’s rootstock.

Most of today’s commercially produced apples are from trees that were bred in two parts—the fruit-bearing scion that makes up the higher branches and tree tops, and the rootstock that forms the roots and lower trunk.

The Census of Agriculture is the most complete account of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Every Thursday USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will highlight new Census data and the power of the information to shape the future of American agriculture.

Just a couple of days ago, on November 11, Washington celebrated its 125th anniversary of statehood, and farming has been one of the cornerstones of the Evergreen State since the very beginning. Using new information from the Washington Department of Agriculture, which is spotlighting farms that have been in the same family since before statehood, combined with the Census of Agriculture, we can easily see this connection.

The 1890 Census of Agriculture reported that apples were already Washington’s top fruit and the state’s dryland wheat farms were tremendously productive. Our farmers stay true to this tradition to this very day. Almost half of all apples grown in the United States come from our state. The 2012 Census of Agriculture counted nearly 175,000 acres of apple orchards in Washington.

The Census of Agriculture is the most complete account of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Every Thursday USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will highlight new Census data and the power of the information to shape the future of American agriculture.

Agriculture is probably not the first thing that pops into your head when you think of New Hampshire. As the 2012 Census of Agriculture results show, however, farming is a major component of our state’s economy. In 2012, our farmers sold nearly $200 million worth of agricultural products.

Milk production has been one of New Hampshire’s leading agricultural products for decades. In 2012, our milk cows produced more than 3 million gallons of milk, which was worth nearly $55 million. Recently, egg production has been increasing. There were also more than 320,000 chickens in New Hampshire in 2012. As a result, New Hampshire had nearly $13.5 million of poultry and egg sales in 2012.

The Census of Agriculture is the most complete account of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Every Thursday USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will highlight new Census data and the power of the information to shape the future of American agriculture.

West Virginia’s climate and topography earned our state the Mountain State nickname. Our rugged mountains also ensure our agricultural community remains extremely diverse. Since West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, farms have been the backbone of the state. According to the first agricultural census, conducted in West Virginia in 1870, there were 39,778 farms with 8,528,394 acres in production, with an average farm size of 214 acres. In the 2012 Census of Agriculture there were 21,480 farms in West Virginia with 3,606,674 acres in production, with an average farm size of 209 acres.

Unlike in many other states, West Virginia’s small farms (those farms selling less than $250,000 in agricultural products) account for nearly 29 percent of total farm sales in 2012, contrasting the US average of 11.1 percent. An even more telling statistic is that nearly half of sales of agricultural products were from farms selling less than $1,000,000, compared to the U.S. average of 33.6 percent. West Virginia has one of the highest ratios of small farms to total number of farms based on the 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Federal crop insurance provides the risk management tools necessary for American farmers to stay in business after a difficult crop year. They can be the difference between a farmer going under because of a lean year or having a safety net that allows them to keep farming and rebuild.  These tools help farmers who rely on good farming practices for smart land use and preserve economic stability for generations.  And the Risk Management Agency (RMA) has worked hard to extend risk management tools for organic producers.

Organic producers were first able to obtain crop insurance under the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000. However, due to the lack of data, organic farmers were initially charged an additional 5 percent surcharge and were only able to insure the “conventional price” for their crop - not the organic price.  Many organic producers felt the surcharge was not justified and that crop insurance prices needed to better reflect what they received in the marketplace.