Overview
It is widely agreed that increased productivity is the main
contributor to economic growth in U.S. agriculture. This data set
provides estimates of productivity growth in the U.S. farm sector
for the 1948-2009 period, and estimates of the growth and relative
levels of productivity across the States for the period 1960-2004.
Note that this data series has been revised (see the Documentation and
Methods for details).
The level of U.S. farm output in 2009 was 170 percent above its
level in 1948, growing at an average annual rate of 1.63 percent.
Aggregate input use increased a mere 0.11 percent annually, so the
positive growth in farm sector output was very substantially due to
productivity growth. This contrasts with a 3.6-percent annual
output increase in the private nonfarm sector, with productivity
growth accounting for a little more than a third of the economic
growth. But what exactly is productivity?
Single-factor measures of productivity, such as corn production
per acre (yield or land productivity) or per hour of labor (labor
productivity), have been used for many years because the underlying
data are often easily available. While useful, such measures can
also mislead. For example, yields could increase simply because
farmers are adding more of other inputs, such as chemicals, labor,
or machinery, to their land base. USDA produces measures of total
factor productivity, taking account of the use of all inputs to the
production process.
Specifically, annual productivity growth is the difference
between growth of agricultural output and the growth of all inputs
taken together (methods for combining inputs are described in the
Documentation and
Methods). Productivity therefore measures changes in the
efficiency with which inputs are transformed into outputs. USDA
also produces State-level productivity measures-annual productivity
growth rates as well as cross-State differences in levels of
productivity, or differences in output per unit of combined inputs.
Input measures are adjusted for changes in their quality, such as
improvements in the efficacy of chemicals and seeds, changes in the
demographics of the farm workforce, or innovations in machinery
design. As a result, agricultural productivity is driven by
innovations in onfarm tasks, changes in the organization and
structure of the farm sector, research aimed at improvements in
farm production, and/or random events like weather.
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National Tables, 1948-2009 | Back to top |
Table 1—Indices of farm output, input, and total factor productivity for the United States, 1948-2009 | | 1/23/2012 | |
Table 2—Sources of growth in the U.S. farm sector (average annual rates) | | 1/23/2012 | |
State-Level Tables, Relative Level Indices and Growth, 1960-2004—Outputs | Back to top |
Table 3—Total farm output by State | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 4—Crop output | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 5—Livestock output | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 6—Other farm-related output | | 5/5/2010 | |
State-Level Tables, Relative Level Indices and Growth, 1960-2004—Inputs | Back to top |
Table 7—Total farm input by State | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 8—Capital input (excluding land) | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 9—Land input | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 10—Total labor input | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 11—Hired labor | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 12— Self-employed and unpaid family labor | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 13—Total intermediate input | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 14—Energy input | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 15—Agricultural chemical input | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 16—Pesticide consumption | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 17—Fertilizer consumption | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 18—Other intermediate inputs | | 5/5/2010 | |
State-Level Tables, Relative Level Indices and Growth, 1960-2004—Total Factor Productivity | Back to top |
Table 19—Indices of total factor productivity by State | | 5/5/2010 | |
State Ranking Tables | Back to top |
Table 20—States ranked by level and growth of farm output | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 21—States ranked by level and growth of inputs | | 5/5/2010 | |
Table 22—States ranked by level and growth of productivity | | 5/5/2010 | |