TRENDS IN FOOD PRODUCTION #8409

Introduction Beef Production Pork Production Sheep Production Dairy Production Poultry Production Seafood Vegetables, Fruits, & Nuts Cereal Grains and Other Crops Table of Contents

Introduction American agriculture is the world’s largest commercial industry and America’s largest employer.

Americans spend less than 11% of their disposable income on food compared to many other countries whose citizens spend 60% to 70% of their disposable income on food. Photo by Ken Hammond courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center

Because of the efficiency of American agricultural industry, consumers have a choice of more than 12,000 food items when shopping in local supermarkets. Photo by Ken Hammond courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center

Beef Production The U. S. cattle industry is comprised of more than 1 million individual farms and ranches. Texas leads the nation with over 14 million head of cattle.

Beef cattle, like dairy cattle and sheep, are ruminants, which allows them to eat large amounts of hay and grass and convert the cellulose in those plants into beef. Beef is the primary source of protein for the consumers in the U. S.

From Pasture to Plate: It takes 1 ½ to 2 years time to produce beef for processing. A calf is born and lives primarily off of its mother’s milk. Photo by Lynn Betts courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

At 7 to 8 months of age, the calf is weaned and put on pasture where it will graze until it weighs approximately 700 pounds. Photo by Jeff Vanuga courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

At about 1 year old, the calf will be placed in a feedlot where it will be fed grain (corn, barley, oats), along with protein, vitamins and minerals. Photo by M. Jasek

In addition to continued muscle growth, the grain-fed calf will start putting on desirable intramuscular fat (marbling), which improves the tenderness and flavor of beef. Photo by M. Jasek

When the calf reaches the desired weight, it is sent to a processing or packing plant where it is slaughtered and dressed. Photo courtesy of the USDA Online Photography Center.

The USDA inspects carcasses for any problems that would make them unfit for consumption. The USDA grades the carcasses (utility to prime) based on the age of the carcass and the marbling in the meat. Photo courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

The carcasses are also yield graded (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) based on the fat to muscle ratio.

After chilling (1 to 2 days) the carcasses are cut into wholesale cuts and sent by refrigerated trucks to supermarkets.

The butcher then cuts the wholesale cuts up into retail cuts (steaks, roasts, etc.) which are wrapped in plastic and displayed for the customers. Ground beef is the most popular form of beef.

By-products of the beef animal include: Leather (hide) Brushes (hair) Buttons, glue, gelatin, toothbrushes (bones & horns) Variety meats (liver, heart, kidneys, tongue, & brains)

Other food by-products such as marshmallows, chewing gum, and sausage casings) Other by-products such as hand creams, animal feeds, soap, and drugs (insulin, rennet, epinephrine, and thrombin).

Cattle Products

It takes about 35 million cattle to provide consumers with 29 billion pounds of beef that is consumed each year. In the U. S., this amounts to more than 67 pounds of beef per person.

Pork Production U. S. pork producers market over 99 million market hogs each year. Pigs were once raised on nearly every farm for food and additional income. Photo by Jack Delano courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

Today about 114,000 farms are actually considered commercial pork production units. More than 80% of hogs produced each year are grown on farms that produce 1,000 or more hogs annually. Photo by Lynn Betts courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

Pigs are born in litters (average 9 to 10 pigs) in a farrowing house and usually stay with the sow for 3 to 4 weeks. Photo by Keith Weller courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service.

When pigs reach a weight of 10 to 15 pounds, they are weaned and moved to a nursery where pigs are fed a complex diet. Photo by Tim McCabe courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

When pigs reach 8 to 10 weeks of age and weigh about 40 to 60 pounds, they are moved to another barn, known as the growing-finishing barn. Photo by Lynn Betts courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

In the growing-finishing barn, pigs are fed all they can consume until they weigh about 250 pounds, at which time they are marketed. Photo by Bob Nichols courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Market pigs are sold to packing plants, where they are slaughtered and some processing may occur.

Pigs, at 72%, have the highest dressing percentage of slaughter animals (cattle 60%). Photo courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

The packing plant sells the whole carcasses or the wholesale cuts to supermarkets, which cut up the pork into retail cuts, package it, and display it for the consumer.

Pig by-products include: lard, hair for bushes, glue, leather, soap, and Nearly 40 drugs & pharmaceuticals.

Also, heart valves of pigs are transplanted into the hearts of humans and the skin of pigs may be used on people who have been badly burned.

The per capita consumption of pork in the U. S. in 2000 was 57.7 pounds.

Sheep Production Sheep are raised in every state of the Union, but most are raised in the West and Midwest.

Texas produces 17% of the total U. S. products for the sheep and wool industry (1 out of 5 sheep in U. S. raised in Texas).

Sheep are ruminants and feed on grasses, forbs, and wood plants. Sheep can be raised on land unsuitable for cultivation. Photo by Jeff Vanuga courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Sheep raised for meat fall into two categories, lamb and mutton, which are based on age of the animal and joints in the forelegs at the lower end of the metacarpals. Photo by Tim McCabe courtesy of USDA Natural Resources and Conservation Service.

Lambs are under one year of age and have a cartilaginous structure that “breaks” at this joint. Mutton comes from sheep that are yearlings or older and have an ossified joint, called a spool joint, that will not break. Lamb meat is more tender and has a milder flavor.

A ewe will give birth to one, two, or sometimes three lambs during the spring. Lambs are nursed by their mothers for 4 to 5 months. Photo by Ron Nichols courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

They are then weaned and may go directly to the packing plant for slaughter. If not taken to slaughter, they will go to a feedlot where they are fed grain (corn, milo, oats, or barley) until they reach a weight of 90 to 110 pounds (2 or 3 months).

Like cattle and pigs, sheep are slaughtered and processed. The meat is sent to supermarkets where the retail cuts are made, packaged and displayed for customers.

By-products of sheep include: * cosmetics, * insulin & other medicines, * glue, * fertilizers, * felt, * sheepskin (rugs & diplomas), * catgut (tennis rackets), * waxes for candles, * fats for soaps, * wool, * bone for china, * leather, * musical strings, and * stearin (gum & candy).

America’s ethnic diversity has helped increase the consumption of lamb.

Dairy Production Dairy cattle are the most efficient protein converters and the second most efficient energy converters among domestic livestock. Photo by Keith Weller courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service.

Dairy cattle provide us with milk and other dairy products, such as butter, cheese, cottage cheese, ice cream, yogurt, powdered milk, and evaporated milk. USDA photo by Ken Hammond

Many dairy cattle are fed a complete ration, also known as a total mixed ration (TMR), meaning that concentrates, roughages, and by-products are all mixed together and fed at one time. Dairy cattle require different amounts of nutrients, depending on their stage of growth or lactation.

The average dairy farm milks twice a day, every day of the year. The first milking usually takes place from 4:00 a.m. to 700 a.m. and the second milking takes place from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Mechanical milking machines are used to milk the cows because they are quicker, easier, and more sanitary than hand milking.

Milk leaves the cow through the milking machine and is pipelined into a storage tank, where it is chilled and stored until it is picked up in bulk by stainless steel, refrigerated trucks.

Milk is trucked to processing plants and pumped into refrigerated bulk tanks. Photo by Ken Hammond courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

At the processing plant, milk is clarified, pasteurized, homogenized and then packaged in sterile paper, glass, or plastic containers.

Thus, milk is milked, transported, processed, and packaged using sterile equipment without ever being exposed to open air or human hands. Photo by Ken Hammond courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

The average dairy cow will eat 100 pounds of dry matter or silage and 15 to 25 pounds of grain, drink 25 to 50 gallons of water, and produce 60 pounds of milk per day. Photo by Scott Bauer courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service.

The average dairy cow in a year will produce about 12,000 pounds of milk, considering all breeds, with the range being between 6,000 and 35,000 pounds of milk depending on breed, breeding, nutrition, etc. Photos by Bill Tarpenning and Ken Hammond courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

Milk Nutrients and Dairy Products

Poultry Production Chickens are by far the most important birds used for human consumption.

The two types of chickens are broilers, which are raised for meat production, and layers, which are raised for egg production. Photos by Stephen Ausmus courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service.

Broilers grow quickly, reaching market age in 6 or 7 weeks of age. At a hatchery, eggs are incubated and hatch in 21 days. Photo by Keith Weller courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service.

The chicks are kept in a brooder within the broiler house for the first week to control the temperature (95 ° F). Photo by Joe Valbuena courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

The first few weeks, chicks are fed a starter feed that is high in protein and then are switched to a growing ration the last several weeks.

After six to seven weeks, broilers are sent to a processor, where they are stunned, killed, cleaned, and prepared for market. Photo courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

Some chickens are specifically bred for the purpose of laying eggs and are called layers. Layers grow similar to broilers, but they do not start laying eggs until they are about 20 weeks old.

Modern layers are raised in total confinement, where they are fed a laying mash. A laying hen lays in cycles nearly 250 eggs per year.

As soon as the egg is laid, a conveyor belt under the hen’s cage moves the eggs to a processing area. Because machines process eggs for market, human hands seldom touch the eggs.

The steps in processing eggs include: washing; candling; weighing and sorting; packaging in cartons; and refrigeration.

Processing takes only 24 to 36 hours and when eggs are properly processed and stored in refrigeration, they will stay fresh for four or five weeks.

Turkeys are also important to the poultry industry, with about 300,000,000 turkeys produced annually in the U. S. Photo courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

Turkeys are raised in a similar method to broilers, but with a much longer growing period. At about 8 weeks, turkeys may be placed on a range, with an average capacity of 250 birds per acre. Photo courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

There is a growing trend toward more turkey production in confinement, but a large part of production in southern states is still done on the range. Photo by Jeff Vanuga courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Turkeys are marketed at various ages and weights depending on the demand: fryer turkeys (4 months); young hens & toms (5 to 7 months); yearling toms & hens (usually less than 15 months).

Processed forms of turkey include turkey rolls, roasts, pot pies, franks, sandwich meat, and frozen dinners. Photo by Ken Hammond courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

Today, people eat more poultry than ever before because it is high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol. Photo by Joe Valbuena courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

In 2000, the per capita consumption of chicken was 82.6 pounds and the per capita consumption of turkey was 17.9 pounds. Photo by Joe Valbuena courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

Seafood The United States has become the third largest consumer of seafood in the world. Photo by Ken Hammond courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

Seafood is low in fat, cholesterol, and calories and is a good source of protein, vitamins (A, D, and some B), magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and copper. Photo by Ken Hammond courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

The rapid rise in demand for seafood, which put pressures on American waters, the nation’s fishing fleets, and availability, caused the U. S. to import more fish, making this nation second only to Japan in seafood importation. Photo by Ken Hammond courtesy of the USDA Online Photography Center.

With availability of wild shrimp and other seafood limited, aquaculture (fish farming) has received more attention and is looked at as possibly the best hope for producing enough fish in this country to keep up with the growing demand. Photo by Peggy Greb courtesy of the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

Aquaculture Products Sold by Category

Vegetables, Fruits, and Nuts The vegetable, fruit, and nut industries in the nation are big business. Photo by Keith Weller courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service.

Gardening is the most popular hobby in the United States. Home gardening of tomatoes, potatoes, beans, lettuce, broccoli, and radishes is popular. Photo by Ron Francis courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

California, Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Georgia are leading producers of vegetables.

Leading producers of fruits include California, Florida, and Texas.

Major vegetable and fruit crops grown are tomatoes, onions, potatoes, lettuce, grapes, apples, oranges, and watermelons.

Some of the states that grow the most popular nuts include: Eight states that grow 99% of the peanuts; Texas and Georgia grow 60% of the pecans; and Photo by Alice Welch courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

California grows all of the almonds grown commercially in the U. S., and 99% of the walnuts and pistachios (second leading pistachio grower worldwide).

Many people are employed in the vegetable, fruit, and nut industries to handle the production, harvesting, processing, delivery, marketing, and sales of a wide variety of products.

Cereal Grains and Other Crops Our nation accounts for 44% of the total world grain exports and 50% of the world soybean exports. U. S. crop producers harvest 314 million acres of cropland to market crops worth $112 billion annually.

Wheat is considered most important food crop in the United States and Europe. Photo by M. Jasek

Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington produce the majority of wheat.

Wheat is high in protein and most wheat is made into flour, which is used to make bread, pastries, tortillas, pasta, crackers, etc.

Wheat or wheat bran is also used in making various breakfast cereals. The average per capita consumption of wheat products in the United States is 110 pounds.

Corn is the nation’s most widely grown crop and is the leading feed grain for livestock in the U. S. About 10% of the corn produced is for human consumption and the per capita consumption of corn products in the U. S. is 33 pounds. Permission to use photo by M. Jasek

Cornmeal, tortillas, chips, flakes, nuts, and popcorn are common products made from corn.

More than one-half of the world’s population depends on rice as a primary food. Photo by M. Jasek

Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and California account for 80% of rice production in the United States.

There are three general varieties of rice: long grain rice (used for direct consumption); and short grain and medium grain rice (used to produce cereals, soups, baby foods, flour, etc.

Soybeans are considered a major vegetable oil crop of the world. Soybeans are high in protein and, therefore, can be used as a meat substitute. Photo by Lynn Betts courtesy of USDA National Resources Conservation Service.

Soybean production has increased more in the last 25 years than any other United States crop, to the point of challenging corn as the most important crop in this country. Photo by Fred Witte courtesy of USDA Online Photography Center.

Crop production plays a vital role in the feeding of a hungry world. In underdeveloped countries, 50% to 90% of the calories in the diets of their people comes from cereal grains and other crops.

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