An Urban's Rural View

A cross-country drive is an opportunity to do some Ag Geography 101 homework. We make the trek from Washington, DC, to Newport, Oregon, twice a year -- west in the spring, east in the fall. On previous passages we have restricted our ag studies to observing what's in the fields as we drive by. That's an interesting but inexact methodology for determining what's grown where and to what extent.

This time, I've dug into the statistics for a broader picture of how the states we're crossing compare. Driving west from Washington, DC, the first state we pass through is Virginia. It has a large population -- 12th among the 50 states with 8.3 million people (http://tiny.cc/…) -- on a small land area -- 35th in the country (http://tiny.cc/…). At $3.7 billion its 2013 farm cash receipts aren't even in the top 30 (http://tiny.cc/…). Virginia's big crops by cash receipts are broilers ($816 million) and cattle ($556 million).

West Virginia, where we spent a couple of days in the mountains before proceeding on, is 41st in the country in population, 41st in land area and one of only two handfuls of states with less than a billion dollars in farm cash receipts at $766 million, more than half of it broilers and cattle. This is one state, though, where the visual evidence and statistical evidence are in close harmony: As we pass through the valleys between this state's many low mountains, almost everything agricultural we see is either a chicken house or a small herd of grazing cattle.

On to Maryland. As I-68 cuts through the state's western panhandle, it's all forested mountains; there's little agriculture to see. By the stats, Maryland is 19th in the country in population, 42nd in land area and in the 30s in ag output with farm cash receipts of $2.3 billion. As in Virginia and West Virginia, broilers are big agricultural business -- $980 million, more than four times the next biggest line item on USDA's sheet.

From the absence of visible chicken houses as we pass into southwest Pennsylvania, the state motto could be, "Finally, out of Broilerland." Actually, though, broilers are still big here ($573 million). But cattle and corn are bigger ($712 million and $659 million). The state is sixth in population, in the low 20s in farm cash receipts at $7.6 billion and 33rd in land area.

Heading west on I-70 into Ohio, we're finally in big-time ag territory, 11th in the country in farm cash receipts at $10.9 billion. I was surprised that the biggest USDA 2013 line item was oil crops at $3.2 billion, nudging out corn. The Buckeye state is not only intensely agricultural, it's densely populated, ranking seventh in the country in population but only 34th in land area.

Heading west into Indiana corn is becoming king -- $4 billion in 2013 farm cash receipts, closely followed by soybeans at $3.4 billion with hogs a distant third at $1.1 billion. This is another state that packs a lot of people and agriculture into a small geography. Overall, the Hoosiers are 10th in farm cash receipts at $11.7 billion, 16th in population and 38th in land area.

As we crossed into Illinois on I-74, corn's kingship was beyond doubt. Only 25th in land area, the land of Lincoln is fifth in population and sixth in farm cash receipts at $17.3 billion. Corn: $7.8 billion; oil crops: $5.7 billion; hogs a distant third at $1.6 billion. It's a measure of how far we've driven into prime ag land that Illinois' receipts in hogs are more than double West Virginia's total receipts.

Iowa is agriculture on steroids, ranking second in the country after California. That didn't surprise me, but the magnitude of the differential between Iowa and the previous states did. I admit I tend to think of Iowa and Illinois in the same breath, but Iowa's farm cash receipts ($31 billion) are nearly double those of Illinois. Iowa's farm cash receipts in corn alone ($10.8 billion) are nearly equal to Ohio's total farm cash receipts. Its hog receipts, at $7.6 billion, rival Pennsylvania's total farm cash receipts. Its oil crops at $6 billion are close to Missouri's total receipts. The state is 30th in population and 26th in land area.

And now we're in Nebraska, where I spent nine pleasant and productive years at DTN. More on Nebraska in my next post.

As for the nine years, one of the many things that made them pleasant was the opportunity to meet so many interesting farmers. Agriculture was a new beat for me when I came to DTN in 2003 and yet the farmers I met showed no impatience with my ignorance. They took me by the hand and taught me; I found their stories fascinating. My thanks to all of you.

One of the most fascinating farmers I've met recently is A.G. Kawamura. A third-generation Japanese-American whose parents and grandparents were interned during World War II, A.G. grows fruits and vegetables on odd bits of ground in a Southern California county with 3 million people. I have a story about him in the latest issue of Fortune magazine, viewable at http://tiny.cc/….

Westward, ho.

Urban Lehner can be reached at urbanity@hotmail.com

(ES)

© Copyright 2015 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.