Bank operating statistics for 1980-91 illustrate important differences between agricultural and nonagricultural banks. The agricultural banks, with a higher proportion of agricultural loans, were more profitable overall, while having more securities and fewer loans. Most agricultural banks were...

Even though farming accounts for only about 1 percent of the total national workforce, it is at the core of the food and fiber system. The system is one of the largest sectors in the U.S. economy, and is comprised of industries related to farming, including feed, seed, fertilizer, machinery,...

The unprecedented growth in crop yields and agricultural total factor productivity over the past 70 years owes much to a series of biological innovations embodied in seeds, beginning with the development of hybrid crops in the United States in the early part of the 20th century, continuing with...

Although consumer diets are being upgraded globally, food purchase patterns vary across countries based on income levels. Developing countries are registering rapid increases in retail sales of high-value foods, while developed countries are seeing a rise in sales of products that meet consumer...

Marketing and production contracts covered 39 percent of the value of U.S. agricultural production in 2008, up from 36 percent in 2001, and a substantial increase over 28 percent in 1991 and 11 percent in 1969. However, aggregate contract use has stabilized in recent years and no longer suggests...