Program Information

In agriculture, crop yield… which is also known as "agricultural output"… is a measure of the yield per unit area of land under cultivation. As agricultural practices and technology have improved over time, so too have crop yields.

ABCs of Agriculture informs about Virginia's farming community and how it affects you. ABCs of Agriculture are produced by the Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) - an educational program which encourages and enhances agricultural literacy in Grades K-5 and 6-8.

Transcript

Hello, and welcome to the ABC’s of Agriculture! We’re here today to talk about the letter Y, for Yields!

In agriculture, crop yield… which is also known as "agricultural output"… is a measure of the yield per unit area of land under cultivation. As agricultural practices and technology have improved over time, so too have crop yields.

Historically, widespread and lasting increases in crop yields have allowed more people to be fed using fewer resources and less acreage.

Modern agricultural practices help today’s farmers to increase their crop yields…

In 2003, American farmers produced a total crop yield of 1.7 trillion pounds of fruits, vegetables, grains, and fiber on 938.8 million acres of farmland.

To give you an idea of yield per acre… think of this one acre of farmland as about the size of a football field…. If this field was in strawberry production… it could yield more than 42 thousand pounds of berries…. Or if it were in cotton production… it could yield about 725 pounds of cotton!

Remember, yields are based on good farming practices … A farmer depends on the fertility of the soil… how much rain falls and how much sun shines to help his crop yields grow!

For the ABC’s of Agriculture, I’m Professor Brad. See you next time!

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