Farm productivity up despite cropland loss
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
Despite a sharp drop in its
harvested cropland, Penn
sylvania farmers ex
perienced a 175 per cent
increase in the market value
of farm products sold over a
25-year period computed by
the Bureau of the Census,
U.S. Department of Com
merce.
This is reflected in a
comparison of already
published data from the five-
year farm censuses com- with the 21st Census of
pleted by the Bureau for 1949 Agriculture in January 1979.
and 1974. The review, of- The market value of
fering a significant long Pennsylvania’s Farm
range perspective of bands products soared to $1.5
in farm methods, products, billion from $546 million in
and income is to be updated 1949, a 175 per cent gain.
Lancaster Farming Saturday, October 7,1978
Field and nursery crops
brought a total of $448
million in 1974, up 232 per
cent, while livestock, poultry
and their products brought
in $1 billion, a 157 per cent
gain over 1949. The State was
third in the Nation in value of
nursery and greenhouse
products sold in 1974 ($l3B
million) with Chester County
first among U.S. counties in
this category.
The State increase oc
curred even though the
number of farms dropped
from 147,000 to 43,000 in 1974,
and harvested cropland was
reduced from 5.6 million to
3.9 million acres.
Other highlights of the 25
year Pennsylvania
agriculture review include
the following;
Among all States, it
ranked fourth in 1974 in
production of apples, and
fifth in peaches and grapes,
despite a 54 per cent drop in
orchard land to 64,000 acres.
It was fourth in clover and
timothy hay acreage in 1974.
Alfalfa grown for hay rose 87
per cent during the period to
523.000 acres. Com cut for
silage increased 65 per cent
to 396,000 acres, and
soybeans rose 140 per cent to
53.000 acres.
The State was fifth in dairy
production and number of
milk cows in 1974. Lancaster
County rose to fifth among
U.S. counties in dairy
products sold with $65.6
million, up from seventh
place in 1949 with $l5 million
in sales.
Between 1954 and 1974, the
number of beef cows was up
377 per cent to 192,000 while
cattle and calves rose seven
per cent to 1,762,000; and
broilers increased 109 per
cent to 56.5 million.
The propagation of
mushrooms under glass
nearly doubled to 32 million
square feet of growing
space.
The farm census, which
today provides the only U.S.
set of uniform agricultural
data at the county level,
covers 17 principal items of
information ranging from
acreage and machinery to
fertilizer and fuel storage.
Because of agriculture’s
importance to the national
economy, the census data
since 1920 has been compiled
and published every five
years, for years ending in 4
and 9. Beginning in 1982 the
agricultural census will be
conducted in years ending in
2 and 7 so as to coincide with
the Bureau’s economic
censuses.
When information from
the 1978 census is aligned
with the current 25-year
review, the result will
constitute the most im
portant overview of the
character and growth of U.S
agriculture since World
War n. Report forms for'
the 1978 census will be
distributed to farmers and
ranchers in December.
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