USDA Visitors Center - FARMING BUSINESS at Home and Abroad

This morning, as you munched a bowl of cereal, buttered your toast, and ate some fruit, you probably weren't thinking about how agriculture affects your life. But every bite of your breakfast, the cotton in your bathrobe, and the wood in your kitchen table all depend on agriculture. You enjoy a variety of abundant food, at reasonable prices, thanks to the productivity of American farmers.

USDA helps American agriculture with commodity, credit, export, and risk management programs that improve the economic stability of agriculture and help farmers adjust to meet demand. These programs help keep enough farmers in business to produce an adequate food supply and to keep consumer prices reasonable.

Agriculture means jobs, too--22.8 million in 1992--producing more than $150 billion in renewable wealth annually.

The United States is the world's leading agricultural exporter, with yearly exports valued in excess of $40 billion. It is also the largest supplier of food assistance to the needy in other countries. USDA helps developing countries grow more food through agricultural education and technical assistance programs.