Global wheat production

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

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 harvesters

According to the World Resources Institute, in 2003 there were 662,000 mechanical agricultural harvesters in use in the United States, or 15.6% of the world’s total harvesters, which was enough to make the United States rank second in that category. Japan ranked first, with 1,042,000 harvesters, or 24.5% of the world’s mechanical harvesters.

The U.S. ranks 6th in sunflower seed production

According to data from FAOstat, in 2009 the United States produced 1,377,130 sunflower seeds, or 5% of the world’s total production. That is enough to make the United States rank sixth in that category. Russia ranked first producing 6,454,320 sunflower seeds or 26% of the world total.

Prepared by Dan Witkowski

The U.S. ranks 1st in hops

According to data from FAOstat in 2009, the United States produced 42,945 tonnes of hops, or 31.4% of the world’s total hop supply. That is enough for the United States to rank first in that category.

Prepared by Christopher P. Shand

The U.S. ranks 83rd in agricultural land

According to the World Bank, 44.9% of the total land area in the United States is agricultural land, which makes the United States rank eighty-third in that category. Burundi ranks first, with 89.4% of its land used as agricultural land.

The U.S. ranks 13th in cereal

According to the World Bank, American farms had an average cereal yield of 6,704 kilograms per hectare in 2008, which was enough to make the United States rank thirteenth in that category. Belgium ranks first, with a yield of 8,576 kilograms of cereal per hectare.

The U.S. ranks 13th in cropland

According to the World Resources Institute, 2,730,000 hectares of land in the United States are permanent cropland, which makes the United States rank thirteenth out of 197 countries ranked in that category. Indonesia ranks first, with 13,600,000 hectares of permanent cropland.

The U.S. ranks 2nd in lettuce and chicory exports

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, in 2007 the United States exported 380,907 metric tonnes of lettuce and chicory, or 22.9% of the world’s total lettuce and chicory exports. That is enough to the make the United States rank second out of 125 countries ranked in that category. Spain ranks first, exporting 531,394 tonnes, or 32.0% of the world total.

The U.S. ranks 200th in agricultural workers as percent of workforce

According to the World Resources Institute, in 2004 agricultural workers accounted for 1.8% of all workers in the United States, which makes the United States rank two-hundredth out of two-hundred twenty eight ranked countries. Bhutan ranks first, at 93.6%.