Healthier America
Healthy meals start with healthy farms, and all crops and commodities play a role in a well-balanced diet. Farmers share the goal of wanting to see improved health outcomes for our families and communities, and achieving those outcomes begins with ensuring that we have a secure and affordable food supply for all Americans. All Americans should enjoy choice and variety in the marketplace, and everyone deserves an open dialogue about the benefits and trade-offs tied to food choices. To keep up the work of growing a safe and sustainable food supply, farmers rely on science-based and carefully tested tools and practices.
Farmers are committed to doing right by the land and caring for their families and yours, especially as they feed their families the same food they are growing for the marketplace.
Regenerative Agriculture
Farmers and ranchers are committed to doing right by the land and have made tremendous strides in the last several decades to replenish the soil. Farmers know firsthand how important healthy soil is. It’s why they rotate the crops planted in the field to enhance nutrients in the soil. It’s why more farmers are reducing tillage and planting cover crops to prevent soil erosion. Farmers are at the forefront of regenerative practices like these because they know firsthand what it takes to grow and sustain life.
Farmland provides valuable green space that helps protect land from soil erosion. According to USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, soil erosion rates have decreased in the U.S., and in the last 35 years, farmers have cut in half the amount of soil lost each year. Both conventional and organic farmers rely on healthy soil, but regenerative practices are not one-size-fits-all given the diversity of climates, terrain, and soil within the U.S.
Whether farmers are working with 100 acres or 10,000 acres, they rely on healthy soil and are committed to doing right by the land.
Safe Pesticide Use
Pesticides play a key role in regenerative farming practices such as no-till and cover cropping. Without pesticides, farmers would lose these critical practices, which help absorb carbon and protect against soil erosion and fertilizer runoff. Today’s precision agriculture equipment allows farmers to monitor crop health down to the plant, use less water, and pinpoint pesticide and fertilizer application. Farmers are committed to safely using these products, which often require additional training and certification. Many farmers live and work on the same land where they raise their children, and they feed their families the same food as they are growing for rest of the country. Without pesticides, our crop health would suffer, leading to more waste, and we would lose important regenerative practices.
Pesticides are so heavily scrutinized by scientists that approval takes approximately 11 years.
Family Farms
The nation’s food security depends on all American farms—large, small, and in between. According to the most recent USDA report, 96% of farms in the U.S. are family owned. Farms of all sizes are vitally important, but it is getting harder for farms, especially small and mid-sized, to stay in business as pressures beyond the farm gate mount. American Farm Bureau economists found that farms of all sizes are relying on off-farm income to stay afloat, with only 23% of farm families’ income coming from the farm. Only 4% of farms do not earn money off the farm. The American Farm Bureau is proud to represent farms of all sizes, nearly all commodities, and in every region of our great country. We are the largest general farm organization, and that matters deeply for every small family farm in our organization.
96% of farms in the U.S. are family owned.
On the Ground
