Global wheat production

If all of the world’s wheat fields were crammed together, this is how much space they’d take:

Global sunflower production

In 2013-2014, the world’s sunflower fields covered about 99,969 square miles. That’s pretty close to the total square mileage of Louisiana and Mississippi combined (100,277 square miles). 

Imagine if those two states were nothing but sunflower fields…

Global maize (corn) production

Here’s something different from what I normally do. I found myself wondering recently about the amount of corn grown in the world. I found out here that in 2014-15, an estimated 175.5 million hectares of land is under corn production.

How much is that?

Well, it turns out that 175.5 million hectares is about 677,606 square miles.

This five states shaded in this map total 678,660 square miles, which is pretty close to the amount of land in the world under corn production.

What do you think? Should I post more maps like this? 

The U.S. ranks 1st in horse exports

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, in 2010 the United States exported $414,788,000 worth of horses, or 20.6% of the world’s total value of horse exports. That is enough to make the United States rank first in that category.

The U.S. ranks 16th in apricots

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, in 2010 the United States produced 60,237 metric tonnes of apricots. That is enough to make the United States rank sixteenth out of sixty-nine countries ranked in that category. Turkey ranks first, producing 476,132 metric tonnes of apricots.

The U.S. ranks 2nd in alfalfa exports

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, in 2010 the United States exported 258,983 metric tonnes of alfalfa meal and pellets, or 19.8% of the world’s exports of that item. That was enough to make the United States rank  second out of eighty-six countries ranked in that category. Spain ranked first, exporting 473,004 tonnes, or 36.2% of the world’s exports.

The U.S. ranks 2nd in beef exports

According to the International Trade Centre, in 2010 the United States exported $1,876,306,000 worth of  “meat of bovine animals, fresh or chilled,” or 10.4% of all the fresh or chilled beef exports in the world. That is enough to make the United States rank second in that category. Netherlands ranks first, exporting $2,172,798,000 (or 12.0%) of the world’s beef.

The U.S. ranks 6th in ass imports

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, in 2012 the United States imported $25,000 worth of asses, or 4.4% of the world’s total value of ass imports. That was enough to make the United States rank sixth out of eighteen ass importing countries. Nepal ranks first, importing $180,000 worth of asses, or 31.5% of the world’s total.

The U.S. ranks 46th in sheep

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, in 2010 the United States had a total stock of 5,620,000 head of sheep, or 08% of the world’s total sheep stock. That is enough to make the United States rank forty-sixth out of one hundred ninety ranked countries. China ranks first, with 134,021,213 head of sheep, or 20.2% of the world’s total sheep.

The U.S. ranks 2nd in tomatoes

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, in 2010 the United States produced 12,902,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes, or 11.7% of the world’s total tomato production. That was enough to make the United States rank second in that category. China ranked first, producing 41,864,750 tonnes, or 37.9% of the world’s total tomatoes. Just five countries–China, the United States, India, Turkey, and Egypt–produce more than three-quarters of the world’s tomatoes.