The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released its 2012 Agriculture Census. The census provides data like how much wheat the state of Kansas produced and the average age of U.S. farm operators.
Brett Walton shares the news of the recent release of a mountain of data from the 2012 Census of Agriculture. "Every five years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture takes on the Herculean task of assessing the state of the American farm economy," writes Walton; "[the] numbers cover a stunningly broad territory, from fine-grained county assessments of production and expenses to national summaries of farms and their owners."
A few things Walton noticed from his initial study of the data:
- "Nebraska keeps its title as irrigation champion. Nebraska irrigates 8.3 million acres of land, topping California, the runner up, with 7.9 million."
- "Irrigation is moving eastward. No longer the domain of the dry west, irrigation is establishing a pivot-hold in the Corn Belt and the Midwest and is becoming dominant in the Mississippi Delta."
See the related links, found below, for a small sample of local coverage of the census findings.
FULL STORY: Census of Agriculture Data Is Christmas for Farm Nerds
Water Woes Hurting California's Farming Towns
California's Central Valley is one of the top agricultural sites in the world, but with low rainfall and cut-off irrigation supplies, farming towns and their citizens may face at least one tough year ahead.
Arizona Native Community Launches First Solar-Over-Canal Project
Covering an irrigation canal with solar panels doubles its utility, producing renewable energy while protecting canal infrastructure and reducing water evaporation.
New Jersey Agrivoltaic Project Combines Solar Energy With Farming
A Rutgers University-New Brunswick demonstration farm will evaluate solar array designs to understand how they can best support grazing and agriculture on the same site.
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