Data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates U.S. farm exports set a record during 2011. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says this record demonstrates once again—that American agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy. Agricultural exports for calendar year 2011 were a robust 136.3-billion dollars as international sales rose a record 20.5-billion dollars.

According to the Secretary, – these figures indicate how demand for the American brand of agriculture continues to soar worldwide, supporting good jobs for Americans across a variety of industries. Every one-billion in agricultural exports supports 84-hundred American jobs, meaning that U.S. farm exports helped support more than one-million U.S. jobs in 2011.

The Secretary continued, – that gets to the innovation of our American farmers, ranchers and growers. American agriculture continues to apply the latest in technology and achieve a nearly unparalleled level of productivity. In fact, U.S. agriculture is the second-most productive sector of our economy in the past few decades outside of information technology.

The Secretary concluded, – exports of almost all major U.S. commodities rose in calendar year 201l. Grains were the biggest contributor to the overall record, reaching an all-time high of 37.7-billion dollars, a 9.2-billion dollar increase over 2010. Cotton experienced the biggest year-to-year increase, up 44 percent.

Courtesy: NAFB News