|
May 5, 2000
|
|
| Texas
leads nation in beef cattle operations
According to USDA, there were a total of 843,230 beef cow operations in
the United States. Texas represents 135,000 of those operations. Operations by size are as
follows: 1-49 head of beef cows, U.S. 666,050, Texas 106,000; 50-99 head, U.S.
101,080, Texas 16,500; 100-499 head, U.S. 70,695, Texas 11,600; 500 plus
head, U.S. 5,405, Texas 900. These statistics are based on the year 1999 and define
an operation as any place having one or more head of beef cows on hand at any time during
the year.
Exports to NAFTA partners accounted for more than a quarter of total U.S. farm export value in fiscal 1999. NAFTA partners’ market share doubled over the past decade.
Vegetables were the largest exports to Canada, followed closely by grains in 1999. Among
the fastest-growing exports to Canada were feed grains and grain products, totaling $1.2
billion in 1999. Grains led exports to Mexico, followed by oilseeds. The best export
performers to Mexico were feed grains, wheat, soybeans, and vegetable oils, which amounted
to $3 billion in 1999. Canada’s overall market remains $1 billion larger than
Mexico’s.
A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee has released a report showing biotechnology foods may be safer to eat than conventional crops, while blaming European activists for ratcheting up the biotech debate and undermining public confidence in foods derived from biotech crops. "Although biotechnology has had an uninterrupted record of safe use, political activists in Europe have waged well-funded campaigns to persuade the public that the products of high-tech agriculture may be harmful," the report concluded. "The controversy...now has spread to the United States." Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.), who chairs the Science subcommittee, urged
the Clinton administration to reject calls for special labels on biotech foods, adding
that the Agriculture Department and the Environmental Protection Agency should scale back
regulation of biotech crops.
Food spending—Total food expenditures by families and individuals, adjusted for inflation, increased in most years since the end of the Great Depression, yet the share of income spent for food declined from 24 percent in 1929 to 11 percent in 1998. Also, a higher proportion of consumers’ food spending is going to food away from home. Both trends indicate an increasingly affluent society. Meat consumption—Total per capita meat consumption reached record highs in the 1990s. While red meat still dominates, poultry has increased in popularity. Between 1909 and 1999, consumption of chicken quintupled from 10 pounds per person a year to 54 pounds, which compares with increases in consumption of beef and pork of 24 percent and 15 percent. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption—In 1998, Americans consumed a little less fresh fruit and a lot more processed fruit than in 1919. Americans also consumed an average 80 pounds more citrus fruit, 5 pounds more melons, and 30 pounds more non-citrus fruit in 1998 than in 1919. In 1919 compared with 1998, consumption of commercial vegetables was lower, but consumption of home-produced vegetables was higher. Grain Product Consumption—In 1998, Americans consumed 100 pounds less of grain products than in 1909. The United States began the 20th century with 76.2 million
people. It ended the century with 275 million people, an extraordinary growth of about 200
million, or 3.6 times as many as there were in 1900. |
