a compilation of interesting facts from Seed World in 2009.

SeeD SeeS SPOTlIgHT aT UN

The use of quality agricultural inputs is one of

the principal ways through which poverty

can be alleviated and food and nutrition

security can be improved. – Marcel Bruins,

Secretary General of ISF.

eNvIRONMeNTal gaINS

According to the Keystone Alliance’s Field to Market report on the environmental impact of agriculture, the single greatest improvement from 1987-2007 is a drop in soil loss. Efficiency trends have improved substantially, by 30 to nearly 70% for the four crops evaluated. Meanwhile, the unit of energy used to produce a bushel of corn has decreased by about 30% and a bushel of soybeans by more than two thirds.

ReceSSION TakeS TOll ON FRUITS

aND veggIeS

Reported fruit consumption has dropped 12% from

last year and vegetable consumption is down 6%,

according to a Produce for Better Health Foundation

survey. The report points to the nation’s current

economic recession for the decrease.

eScalaTINg INPUTS

A study by the University of Illinois from 2001 to

2008 shows the average non-land cost for an

Illinois farmer to grow an acre of corn is $300. In

2009, that same acre of corn will cost farmers

somewhere between $476 and $579 to produce

depending on when fertilizer was purchased.

DECEMBER 2009

TURF WaR

“It’s happened before; it happens every

seven years. The real problem with this one

is that it is coupling seed cyclical pricing

with the economic crisis. If the economy

crash is a true one, we won’t come out of

it.” – Dennis Combs, an Agricultural

Consultant in Oregon

a DyINg BReeD

Since the turn of the century, farming has progressively employed a smaller share of the labor force.

year

Percentage of Workforce employed in agriculture

1900

41%

1930

21.5%

1945

6%

1970

4%

2000/02

1.9%

Since 1900, the number of farms has fallen by 63%, however, the average farm size has risen 67%.

Source: Compiled by Economic Research Service, USDA

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