Did you know?

The labour force of the farming industry has dropped so much. In the United States, it's amazing how few farmers there are left. "Total population: 3,929,214; farmers 90% of labor force.a" This is in 1830a. 90% is pretty high for agriculture, but back then, a lot of people had to grow their own food. In 1840, the population of the United States was 17,069,453 and the percentage of those were farmers was 69%a, so it has dropped dramatically in a short 10 years.
The farmer's are given more work to provide food for more people. In 1850, the population was 23,191,786 and the labour of the farming industry has dropped to 65%a. Not as dramatic as the decade of 1830 to 1840. Jumping to 1900, the United States population has grown to 75,994,266 and the percentage of those that are farmers was 38%a. In addition to that, referring to my source, the average number of acres owned by these farmers go down as the years go by!
Imagine being in 1900, with 147 acres, having to provide food for the other 62% of the population! You would think once the number of farmers go down, the remaining farmers get more land to pick up the slack! But once we get to 1910, the farmers are beginning to gain more land to be able to plant more food and keep feeding the millions of people in the United Statesa.
Jumping again to 1950, the United States population is at 151,132,000 the percentage of those who are farmers has dropped to 12.2%a! That's 18,438,104 people farming, it's still alot of people farming, but they do have alot more work and land now to use for crops.
Finally, jumping to 1990 to 2000, the United States population is at 261,423,000. The farming population is at its lowest, which is 2,987,552a! That's 2.6% of the population!
In my opinion, people have forgotten what farms do, and how much we provide for food. Depending on what our farms are on, we still grow or raising the basic needs of life. Either it's grain, barley, corn, or cattle, chicken, pigs, even milk, cream, and cheese. Without farms, there is nothing. I don't think people realize that.

In Canada, in the last century, 40% of the workforce was in farming. Currently, it's under 2%b!
Sure we enjoy the profits, but from what I know, the farms in our area are struggling to meet the demands of consumers and at the same time grow our own food to feed our livestock. Which is why there should be more farms, so the demands of consumers can be more easily met.


Sources:
a  http://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/farmers_land.htm
b  http://www.guidetobceconomy.org/major_industries/agriculture.htm