How Many People Does One Farmer Feed?
We tend to focus on and talk about farmers at two times of the year. They come to mind at planting time in the Spring and again in the Fall during harvest season.
I guess seeing them out in the fields working with their machinery remind us they are producing for the world. The fact is, they are feeding the world.
The products grown on farms all across the United States, not only help feed the over 300 million people living in this country, but also people worldwide. More than 50 different types of agricultural products are exported globally.
So how many people can one single farmer alone feed? The answer was calculated using some complicated math by economists at the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Considering everything from imports, exports, the number of farms, population and revenue, the result is astonishing. One single farmer produces enough food to feed 155 people.
Farming technology has pushed this number up drastically. In the 1930's, one farmer could feed four people. In the 1970's it was 73 people.
When you sit down to eat your next meal, think of those hard working American farmers growing our food on the land.