Profile America: National Farm-City Week

farm-city-produceTuesday, November 22 — National Farm-City Week began last Friday and ends on Thanksgiving Day, when agricultural bounty is most notable. First declared by congressional resolution in 1956, the occasion recognizes that farms are a necessary precondition for town life and urbanization. As Daniel Webster noted in 1840, “When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers are therefore the founders of human civilization.” The U.S. population of some 324 million people is sustained by the output of America’s 2.1 million farms, which encompass nearly 915 million acres. To aid farmers in tilling the soil, around 1,145 manufacturers annually produce nearly $38 billion worth of farm machinery and equipment.

Profile America is in its 20th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

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