Talk:Agriculture in the United States

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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 19 August 2021 and 9 December 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): RandomSTAY. Peer reviewers: OutskirtAZ.

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Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Susiechonai.

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Forgotten Native Americans

A section on the agricultural practices of Native Americans, pre- and post- European contact would be very appropriate. A high percentage of cultures in the America's practiced agriculture on some basis, with some cultures being clearly agriculturally based. Many food crops utilized by moderg American farmers where domesticated and cultivated first by Native Americans. WBardwin 00:11, 10 July 2001 (UTC)

Note though that of the top ten crops, only 2 were native to the Americas and of the top 5 livestock, none were. (presumably turkeys would fall in the top ten though.) Of course, this article is hugely in need of expansion in all aspects, historical and modern. Rmhermen 01:52, 20 January,2006

Fish

There is no mention of fish in this article. Does not fishing, fish farms and aquaculture play some part in US agriculture? --Geronimo20 (talk) 01:31, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Subsidies etc

Does anyone have more information on the subsidies that the industry receives, as in how much, who it goes to etc? A little discussion about how it impacts world markets and is said to hurt the developing world seems appropriate as well. I think this is a big part of the agriculture picture in the US... TastyCakes (talk) 19:58, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

See Agricultural_subsidy#United_States. -- Beland (talk) 23:21, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

Basic Info!

I just put a little basic, much needed fact, though not written well... The link i gave has all the basic facts we need for this page. This needs to be drastically expanded. Is there anywhere else in wikipedia where the basic farming information is given? It's hard to believe that this subject is not touched in more detail. I'll add things to this article as I go, and may do a major expansion at some point. NittyG (talk) 21:00, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Import/export

I read that the U.S. was starting to import more food than it exported in 1999, which would be a notable development.[2] It would be interesting to have data on the history of import/export balance, and also some coverage of what the top import vs. export agricultural items are. -- Beland (talk) 23:23, 5 October 2009 (UTC) usa ranks second all over the world in food cultivation

I want "agriculture in the USA" back . Please add farmers also.

Somebody deleted half a text right now! Could you, please, put it back??? Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.234.18.179 (talk) 02:26, 28 October 2009 (UTC)

External links (news sources)

I found the following 43 links from http://www.abyznewslinks.com/, but there are too many to list under Agriculture in the United States#External links and there are not more specific articles such as Agriculture in California, so I am listing them here. -- Wavelength (talk) 19:42, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

• Ag Alert (by the California Farm Bureau Federation, based in Sacramento, CA)
• Home - California Farmer (based in San Ramon, CA)
• Western Farm Press | Timely, Reliable Information for Western Agriculture | Grapes, Rice, Alfalfa, Vegetables, Cotton, Nuts, Citrus farming news, | Farm Publications, ag magazines (based in Fresno, CA)
• Southeast Farm Press | Timely, Reliable Information for Southeast Agriculture | cotton, Peanuts, Grains, Soybeans, Vegetables, Tobacco, Biofuels | Farm Publications, ag magazines (based in Atlanta, GA)
• AgriNews Publications (based in La Salle, IN)
• Farm World - The weekly farm newspaper source for ag news, classifieds, auctions (based in Knightstown, IN)
• The Farmer's Exchange Online (based in New Paris, IN)
• High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal Home Page (based in Dodge City, KS)
• Grass & Grain - Official Website (based in Manhattan, KS)
• Homepage » Farm Talk (based in Parsons, KS)
• The Farmer's Pride (coming soon) (based in Columbia, KY)
• Proudly serving Delaware, Maryland and Virginia ("The Delmarva Farmer") (based in Easton, MD)
• Farmer's Advance (based in Camden, MI)
• Homepage » The Land :: www.TheLandOnline.com (based in Mankato, MN)
• MidAmerica Farm Grower - Home (based in Perryville, MO)
• The Prairie Star: Montana Ag Newspaper (based in Great Falls, MT)
• TheFencePost.com | Rural News from Colorado & Nebraska (based in Ogallala, NE)
• The Business Farmer (based in Scottsbluff, NE)
• The Nevada Rancher (based in Lovelock, NV)
• New Jersey Farmer Newspaper (based in NJ)
• SmallTownPapers - Clovis Livestock Market News, Fort Sumner New Mexico (based in Clovis, NM)
• Country Folks (based in Palatine Bridge, NY)
• Farm & Ranch Guide: North Dakota's Ag Newspaper (based in Bismarck, ND)
• Agweek: Ag industry news and opinion (based in Grand Forks, ND)
• Farmland News (based in Archbold, OH)
• RFD News ("RFD" = "Rural Free Delivery"?) (based in Bellevue, OH)
• Farm and Dairy - The Auction Guide and Rural Marketplace (based in Salem, OH)
• Capital Press agriculture news (based in Salem, OR)
• Lancaster Farming: Ephrata, PA | Lancaster Farming (based in Ephrata, PA)
• PA Farm News (based in Quarryville, PA)
• Farm Forum (based in Aberdeen, SD)
• Tri-State Neighbor: South Dakota Farm Newspaper (based in Sioux Falls, SD)
• TSLN.com | Tri-State Livestock News (based in Sturgis, SD)
• Delta Farm Press | Timely, Reliable Information for Sunbelt Agriculture | Cotton, Soybeans, Rice, Corn, Wheat, Ag Legislation, Biofuels | Farm Publications, ag magazines (based in Memphis, TN)
• The Weekly Livestock Reporter, livestock news, auctions, (based in Fort Worth, TX)
• Southwest Farm Press | Timely, Reliable Information for Southwest Agriculture | Cotton farming, Peanuts, Grains, Soybeans, Livestock, Biofuels, Farm Publications, ag magazines (based in Houston, TX)
• Welcome To Livestock Weekly! (based in San Angelo, TX)
• Country World (based in Sulphur Springs, TX)
• Wisconsin Ag Connection (based in Marshfield, WI)
• The Country Today (based in Eau Claire, WI)
• Agri-View: Your Premier Agricultural News Source (based in Madison, WI)
• Wisconsin State Farmer (based in Waupaca, WI)
• Wyoming Livestock Roundup (based in Casper, WY)

-- Wavelength (talk) 19:42, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

I dont like having these links here, as its very spammy. I think though, if many of these are statewide newsletters, it simply points to the need for separate articles on the agriculture of various states. I suggested one for California below, an obvious one. we have articles on wine by state. i know a lot of this would be boring, and repetitious, esp. with products that are found in each state. but, arent there some differences by state? sugar beets in the north, rice in california, citrus in florida, sugar cane/pineapples in hawaii, oats i believe are concentrated in certain states. Any reason not to have some?Mercurywoodrose (talk) 09:10, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Agriculture in California

Given its importance, I think we need Agriculture in California, maybe more so than many other states. i wonder if doing state by state articles has been discussed. i know we have wine articles for each state.Mercurywoodrose (talk) 09:06, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Considering the poor state of even this article, I am hesitant to suggest starting a whole series. But if you want to do a one-off for California, we could see how it goes. Rmhermen (talk) 18:22, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

I believe rather than starting a fork, those efforts should be put into this article, as Rmhermen says, it's not in the shape we'd prefer for such a major topic. Shadowjams (talk) 08:30, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

I am not sure if this has advanced any further in the past few years, but seeing that Agriculture in California is still in such poor shape, I am going to start building out that page. Relevant sections and information can be transferred over to this page as well. If there are any new ideas on what should be included, please message me. Jennifer Rosemary (talk) 05:35, 27 September 2019 (UTC)

Road map for expansion, ideas, improvement

I realize this talk page volume is low, but for those that do happen across it, please weigh in, or help contribute, to some of these ideas.

This is a substantial industry topic and its breadth isn't as wide as it could be. It also has a lot of opportunities for other topics to be linked out of it. This should be the umbrella article for agricultural topics in the U.S., yet its structure and the lack of content on those make it very hard for it to be a good umbrella article right now.

Here are some suggestions

1. Expand the crop section, as well as the agricultural products section; major crop and livestock categories should have subsections. Cereals, livestock (meats, poultry, dairy), aquaculture (not sure what consensus is on this), fruits/vegetables, etc. I'm not suggesting a subheading for every crop, just for the broad classes.
2. Expand the government section. We have a plethora of articles that could be linked out for more info, but should have a better mention (United States House Committee on Agriculture is a good example).
3. Pictures - there are so many animal and crop pictures out there, and this is an easy photo request too. We could have many high-quality relevant photos included.
4. The Agricultural history of the United States is a good article on a subset topic. The history section is good, but perhaps someone should make sure our history section highlights all the key points in that article.
5. Employment - This section will be straightforward. I'm thinking breakdowns on the types of labor forces and how they differ geographically, breakdown on demographics within that, OSHA statistics on injury and other issues.
6. Split health and safety into safety concerns for farmers (put that into the employment section), and environmental concerns for the ecosystem, etc. This can encompass other issues, such as the soil article, and the honeybee collapse reference.

These are just some ideas. I'd like to hear other editors' as well. I'll try to start in on some of the modest additions soon. Shadowjams (talk) 08:45, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

I just swung by and notice that the child workers is too long and probably needs to be summarized and spun off. On the subject of photos, do we want all modern photos since there is a history article on the subject? Rmhermen (talk) 18:06, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

A lot of that extraneous stuff was added by a new editor in a single edit here, which seems as though it may have been copy pasted from somewhere. Paris1127 recently cleaned it up, but I agree, more of it should be chopped or transferred into an appropriate article. As for the pictures, there's only 5, and there's no need to exclude historic photos just because we have a history article. Shadowjams (talk) 02:12, 25 May 2013 (UTC)

I just looked into it, and large swaths of the added child labor material is directly taken from a government study, it would appear. I don't know where the original comes from, but this link matches a lot of it. I didn't dig much deeper to see how much of what was added is copied, but this is an issue. It needs to be reworked; I wouldn't oppose someone removing the bulk of it and adding it back in properly with cites, etc. Shadowjams (talk) 02:12, 25 May 2013 (UTC)

I just realized that I had mentioned this to the editor 2 months ago... but forgotten to follow up. I'll probably remove a lot of it and rework it back in, since that account's only edit (before and now) is that massive addition of at least partially plagiarized material. Shadowjams (talk) 02:15, 25 May 2013 (UTC)

The article contradicts a source

I'm not sure that I understand what is meant by the following sentences:

The only other crops to ever appear in the top 20 in the last 40 years were commonly tobacco, barley, and oats, and rarely, peanuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds (in all, only 26 of the 188 crops the FAO tracks worldwide).

The first sentence is referring to only US agricultural production. I'm not sure about the second sentence (in parentheses). It seems like the sentence is stating that US agricultural production has only produced a total of 26 crops that that have ever appeared in the top FAO's top 20 list. The FAO's site lists the top 50 crops of each country by value and quantity, and the 50th US crop is ranked 19 in the world in terms of value. (And six in terms of quantity).

I believe that someone made the mistake of taking the Commodities by country list and mistaking it for the Country rank in the world, by commodity list. The latter list has 50 agricultural products listed that all fall with the top 17 or the top 19 in 2003 and 2012 respectively.

I'll remove the sentence in parentheses. If I am just completely missing something, please feel free to revert, but please explain to me where my mistake is.

Incidently, the FAO is revamping their site, the new site will be here. --IP.303Talk 07:09, 25 May 2014 (UTC)

No it means that only 26 of the 188 crops have ever appeared in the U.S. top 20. Rmhermen (talk) 02:51, 26 May 2014 (UTC)

So that's what I was missing. I think that I was thrown off a bit by the last part: "in all, only 26 of the 188 crops the FAO tracks worldwide." I mistook that as implying that only 26 crops were ranked in the world's top 20 rather than the US top 20. I'm not sure if other people read it that way or if I was just guilty of reading too much into it. Two letters (US) before the number "20" (or the elimination of the word "worldwide") would make the sentence less ambiguous. Thanks for the explanation. Wish I were as concise. --IP.303Talk 07:25, 1 June 2014 (UTC)

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Women in agriculture

This section is very large and through in proportion to the rest of the article per WP:SPLIT guidelines it should have its own article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.225.164.63 (talk) 22:17, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

I support splitting off this content and leaving a paragraph about women in US agriculture. Much of the content seems to be about women in agriculture in general, and is not specific to the US.Dialectric (talk) 03:56, 26 November 2016 (UTC)

I support this as well. I came looking for a link to US Agriculture by state. I found it very surprising that there is 16 paragraphs on women in US Agriculture but there is no breakdown by region or state at all. --Rtbittaker (talk) 02:01, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

It looks like the section needs a serious trim before determining anything else as it's a bit of a WP:COATRACK. I did a little bit already, but I'll take a look at the rest in the coming days. I expect much of the content can be incorporated elsewhere in a more WP:DUE fashion. Kingofaces43 (talk) 05:31, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

I took a look through all of the sources and related content. Most of it was either not WP:MEDRS where it needed to be or else essay-like synthesis on the editor's part. I integrated some sources and updated content elsewhere, and was left with what essentially amounted to a demographics section, so I named it as such. Everything else is already content more suited for something like pesticide poisoning or Agricultural safety and health that already has a summary here. There are definitely plenty of sources that discuss women in agriculture though. There are areas where I've seen similar content before, but it was instead integrated into the relevant sections of those articles rather than carving out a whole gender specific section, so that's probably the better route to go if anything more is going to be fleshed out here or at other related articles using more summary style sources.

On the new demographics section, there's a bit of potential for it to be fleshed out. I'm thinking basic census information like how the average US farmer is 58, etc. A project for another day or if someone else gets a fancy for it. Kingofaces43 (talk) 22:04, 10 February 2019 (UTC)

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Meatpacking as agriculture

Rmhermen, you removed my content, claiming that meatpacking is not part of agriculture. This seems silly to me. Of course slaughtering is part of animal agriculture. Slaughter is defined as, killing of animals especially for food. Agriculture involves all food production. Please return my content. RockingGeo (talk) 05:31, 27 May 2019 (UTC)

Is milling part of agriculture? Canning? Fuel ethanol processing? Rum making? Where is the line? Rmhermen (talk) 02:06, 28 May 2019 (UTC)

2017 USDA Census of Agriculture

Hello. Is there a list of pages needing updating that this page could be added to? The 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture is out now and contains more current figures than found on this page. I cannot update it myself. Sorry. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.133.39.9 (talk) 22:34, 4 June 2019 (UTC)

References