Ag Facts

Rural America comprises 80 percent of the nation’s land and is home to one-fifth of its people. Growing numbers of Hispanics are settling in rural America, and they accounted for over 25 percent of the nonmetro population growth during the1990’s.

(Source: Rural America At A Glance, September 2002, USDA ERS, http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/rdrr94-1/rdrr94-1.pdf)

Grapes and broccoli sold in the Midwest travel on average over 2,100 miles. Apples travel over 1,500 miles. Sweet corn comes from an average 81.3 miles and pumpkins only 23.3 miles.

(Source: Leopold Center, Iowa State University, http://www.leopold.iastate.edu, 515-294-3711)