Alabama Agriculture
It’s Everywhere !!
Alabama agriculture is very
important
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There are over 48,500 farms in the state
covering about 9,000,000 acres.
Alabama farmers grow a variety of crops
and livestock—At least 50 different.
Alabama agricultural exports total $1
billion a year, with poultry accounting for
about one-third of all exports.
Poultry & Eggs
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Alabama is the 3rd largest producer of broilers
(chicken you eat) just behind Arkansas & Georgia
Alabama is the 14th largest producer of eggs in
the nation.
• There are ten major companies operating
broiler farms in Alabama.
• These ten companies provide jobs for almost
75,000 people, including over 4,000 farmers.
• Cullman County produces the most poultry and eggs
in Alabama and is the second highest producing
county in the world.
• Broilers are raised in specially designed houses that
have room for up to 21,000 birds.
• The temperature, lighting and amount of food are
carefully controlled.
The economic impact of poultry in Alabama is $8.5
billion, which is 10 percent of the state's economy.
Each year, the average American consumes 255 eggs.
Alabama poultry growers market more than 1 million
birds per year.
Alabama’s laying hen flocks produce about 2 billion
eggs a year.
Cattle
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The state ranks 26th in the nation among all
states in cattle inventory with 1.32 million head.
Only Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma,
Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas and Kentucky have
more beef cattle farms.
This means Alabama ranks 9th in the U.S. in
numbers of farms that produce cattle.
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Cash receipts for beef cattle production
in Alabama ranks second in the state
behind broilers.
Cattle are produced in all 67 counties.
The beef industry represents a $2 billion
industry to Alabama.
Cullman County ranks 1st in Alabama.
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Each year, the average American consumes 66.1 pounds of
beef!
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Hamburger meat produced from one market-ready steer
could equal 720 quarter-pound hamburgers.
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Burgers account for three-fourths of all beef sales in
restaurants; 8.2 billion are served in the U.S. each year.
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One average-size cowhide can produce enough leather to
make 20 footballs, 18 soccer or volleyballs or 12
basketballs.
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Alabama is a deficit milk market,
meaning it doesn't produce enough milk
to meet milk processing and consumption
demands.
Alabama produces less than 20% of the
milk processed in the state with the
balance coming from states like Texas
and New Mexico.
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The year 2007 ended with fewer than 13,000
milk cows, or fewer than 70 Alabama dairy
farms.
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In 2007, Alabama dairy producers impacted the
Alabama economy to the tune of more than $41
million in cash receipts.
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The top 3 milk-producing counties in Alabama
are Morgan, Cullman and Geneva.
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An average dairy cow produces about 7 gallons of milk a
day (that’s more than 100 glasses of milk), or enough to
make 6 pounds of cheese or 2.6 pounds of butter.
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Twenty-five gallons of milk can make nine gallons of ice
cream, 25 pounds of cheese or 11 pounds of butter.
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One gallon of milk weighs 8.6 pounds.
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Each year, the average American consumes 25 gallons of
milk!
Hogs & pigs
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Alabama is a small hog producer.
Alabama ranked 26th in the United
States during 2001 for hog and pig
production.
Our number of hogs and pigs produced
was 160,000 with a value of $14.7
million.
DeKalb County ranks 1st in Alabama.
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Pork is the world's most widely consumed meat, accounting
for about 42 percent of the world's meat consumption.
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Insulin from hogs is used in the treatment of diabetes. Hog
heart valves are used to replace damaged or diseased human
heart valves. Skin from hogs is used to treat severe burn
victims.
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Pork is the world’s most widely eaten meat, comprising 42.6
percent of meat consumption.
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Each year, the average American consumes 50 pounds of
pork!
Catfish
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Alabama is one of the top four states
to produce aquaculture.
Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and
Louisiana, produce 95% of the catfish
grown in the United States.
Hale County ranks 1st in catfish
production.
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Alabama has around 22,000 water acres of fish
farms where nearly 200 commercial farmers
produce 25 different aquatic species. Farmraised catfish is by far the dominant species,
with Alabama ranking second in the U.S. in
annual catfish sales.
Alabama farmers currently produce well over
100 million pounds of catfish per year, and
Alabama still has the land and water resources
to support an industry 10 times its current size.
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Eight percent of all fresh water in the lower 48
states originates or passes through Alabama.
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Alabama is home to the world's largest catfish
processing plant.
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Each year, the average American consumes 1
pound of catfish!
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Besides catfish, Alabama aquaculture farmers
raise shrimp, tilapia and crawfish.
Honey Bees
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Honey production is one reason that there are
more than 2,500 registered beekeepers in all
67 counties.
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Bees are a mutually beneficial commodity. Not only
do they produce sweet-tasting honey, but through
pollination, bees provide an invaluable service to
farmers and to the wildlife community.
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Examples of Alabama-produced crops totally or
mostly dependent on honeybees for pollination:
watermelons, apples, blueberries, cantaloupes, peaches,
pumpkins, blackberries, grapes, persimmons, strawberries,
cucumbers, honeydew, pears, plums, sunflowers, and
vegetable seed.
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Alabama queen bees are shipped into every state and
to several foreign countries.
Queen bees that have been certified disease free are
packaged and shipped to beekeepers who want to
increase their hive production.
In a hive or bee colony, each bee has an important
part.
The queen bee lays eggs and the drones mate with the
queen.
The worker bees gather nectar and pollen, make nectar
into honey, feed the queen, drones and larvae, make
wax honeycomb and do many other jobs.
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10 pounds of honey yields 1 pound of wax
Beeswax candles - oldest candles known to man
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The colors of honey range from water white to dark amber,
depending on its mineral content and floral source. Light
colored honey typically has a mild flavor, while dark colored
honey is usually stronger.
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Bees travel 55,000 miles and visit more than 2 million
flowers to make 1 pound of honey.
Corn
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Corn is an important commodity in farming and
most corn grown in the U.S. is used to feed
livestock.
Jackson County ranks 1st in Alabama.
Poultry, beef, pork and dairy producers use
more than 60-percent of all the corn grown in
the U.S.
One bushel of corn (56 pounds) provides 31.5
pounds of starch or 33 pounds of sweetener or
2.8 gallons of fuel ethanol.
A farmer gets about 3 cents for every box of
Wheaties® and 10 cents for every box of corn
flakes.
Cotton
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Cotton is the state’s largest row crop. It is grown in 59 of
the 67 counties.
Alabama ranked 9th in the United States in cotton
production.
Limestone County topped all other Alabama counties in
cotton production
Cotton is versatile and has many uses. It can be used as a
fiber, feed and food.
In 2005, Alabama farmers picked 545,000 acres of cotton,
producing 850,000 bales with an estimated value of $212
million, and an average yield of 749 pounds per acre
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In 1892 the boll weevil arrived from Mexico and
spread across the cotton-growing regions of the
United States.
The boll weevil bores into the cotton boll and lays its
eggs. The eggs hatch and the larvae eat the cotton
fiber. It takes the larvae about 3 weeks to become
adult weevils and start laying their own eggs.
That means that the weevils can hatch anywhere
from 2 - 10 generations during a single cotton
growing season.
Because of the destruction done to the cotton crops,
Alabama farmers had no other choice but to
diversify.
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In other words, start growing other crops. Soybeans,
peanuts, corn, wheat, and other crops soon took
over many of the fields that used to grow cotton.
In Enterprise Alabama, Bon Fleming, a local
businessman, came up with the idea to honor the
boll weevil for its part in changing the way Alabama
farmers farmed.
The monument and surrounding pool cost $3,000,
which came from individual contributions and
Fleming's own pocket.
The monument was dedicated in a ceremony on
Dec. 11, 1919 witnessed by a crowd of 5,000
people.
Boll Weevil Monument
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When the cotton is harvested it is sent to a
"Cotton Gin."
Cotton gins separate the fluffy, white fiber from
the seed (one-third of it is lint, the fluffy white
part, and two-thirds seed.)
The fiber is used to make cotton cloth.
The seeds are processed into oil, meal and
hulls. They are used in soap, makeup and food
products such as cooking oil and margarine.
The meal and hulls are used as livestock feed.
The leftover fiber can be used to make
everything from gunpowder to toothbrush
handles.
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For every $40 pair of denim jeans sold, the farmer gets $1.46. He
gets 41 cents for a $35 men's shirt, and 45 cents for a $14 terry
bath towel
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One bale of cotton can produce 8,000 men's woven
handkerchiefs, 850 ladies blouses and shirts, 3,000 diapers, and
1,200 pillowcases, 215 pairs of jeans, 249 bed sheets, 690 bath
towels, 1,217 T-shirts, or 313,600 $100 bills.
Soybeans
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Jackson County ranks 1st in Alabama.
Alabama produces soybeans. In fact there are
150,000-200,000 acres in the state growing
soybeans.
Total soybean production in Alabama for 2010 was
4.7 million bushels at a value of $21 million
The average production is approximately 25 bushels
per acre.
A 60-pound bushel of soybeans yields about 48
pounds of protein-rich meal and 11 pounds of oil or
1.5 gallons of biodiesel.
More soybeans are grown in the United States than
in any other country in the world.
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Soybeans have been an important part of the human
diet for over 4,000 years.
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Soybeans are generally acknowledged to be the
highest quality vegetable protein source and one of the
most abundant.
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One acre of soybeans can furnish 584 pounds of edible
protein and sustain an individual for 2,224 days.
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Soybeans are processed into meal and oil.
Most of the meal goes into poultry and livestock
feed.
Soybean oil accounts for about three-fourths of
the fats and oils used in U.S. edible oil products.
Most cooking oils, shortenings, and margarines
are made from soybean oil.
Here is a short list of what soybeans are used
for Consumer Products Adhesives, All-Purpose
Lubricants, Alternative Fuels, Animal Care, Auto
Care, Bar Chain Oils, Building Composites,
Candles, Cleaning Products, Crayons, Diesel
Additives
Over 82,000 crayons can be made from an acre
of soybeans!
Peanuts
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Houston County ranks 1st in Alabama.
Approximately half the peanuts grown
in the United States are grown within a
100-mile radius of Dothan, Alabama.
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Last year, Alabama farmers harvested
189,000 acres of peanuts, producing 400
million pounds valued at $118 million.
Peanuts are legumes, not nuts.
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The peanut plant is unusual because it
flowers above ground but the peanut
grows below ground.
Planted in the early spring, the peanut
grows best in calcium rich sandy soil.
For a good crop, 120 to 140 frost free
days are required.
Farmers harvest the peanuts in the fall.
The peanuts are pulled from the ground
by special machinery and turned over to
dry in the fields for several days.
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The combine machines then separate the
peanuts from the vines and blow the tender
moist peanuts into special hoppers.
They are dumped into a drying wagon and
cured by forcing warm air through the
wagons.
Afterwards, the peanuts are taken to buying
stations where they are inspected and
graded for sale.
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About half of U.S. peanuts consumed domestically
are in the form of peanut butter. By law, peanut
butter must contain 90% peanuts. The other 10%
is for stabilizers and sweeteners.
Americans consume approximately 800 million
pounds, or 3.3 pounds per person, of peanut
butter per year. That's enough to coat the floor of
the Grand Canyon!
Peanut butter, at 20 cents per sandwich, is the
most inexpensive source of protein in the
American diet.
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The combination of peanuts and chocolate is
America's favorite candy. For several years
candies containing peanuts have topped the
best-seller list.
One of the many great advantages to peanuts
and peanut butter is long shelf life. If held at
average ambient temperatures without great
changes in heat or humidity, peanuts and
peanut butter can be safely stored for several
months.
Forestry
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Forestry is Alabama's #1 industry.
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Two thirds of Alabama, 22 million acres,
is covered in forestland (about the size of
Indiana). Non-industrial private
landowners own approximately 75
percent of that forestland
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Forestry generates approximately
$13 billion for Alabama each year.
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More than 170,000 Alabamians are
employed directly or indirectly by the
forestry industry.
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For every tree harvested in Alabama, five
are planted.
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Alabama forests consist of 35 percent pine,
45 percent hardwood, and 20 percent mixed
pine and hardwood.
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Enough lumber exists in Alabama’s forests to
build and furnish nearly 4 million homes.
On average, each person in the United States
uses enough tree products each year to make
a tree 100 feet tall and 16 feet in diameter.
One acre of healthy trees can generate
approximately 5,600 lbs.
of wood in one year.
Greenhouse, Nursery & Sod
Greenhouse, nursery and sod
comprise the fastest-growing segment
of Alabama’s agricultural industry,
increasing from cash receipts of $31
million in 1975 to $276 million in 2005.
 The green industry has a total
economic impact of $1.9 billion in
Alabama.
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There are more than 2,500 greenhouse,
nursery and sod businesses in the state,
employing more than 30,000 workers.
Alabama is ranked third in sod production
in the United States and 16th in
greenhouse and nursery sales.
Alabama is known as the azalea capital of
the world.
Meat Goat & Sheep
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Most of Alabama's sheep and goat
producers are considered small or
medium-sized producers who generally
produce their products on small acreage.
The beauty of this is that it allows people
with small amounts of land to be
involved in agriculture.
Alabama has about 11,500 sheep on
about 445 farms
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Alabama's goat population is near 39,800
head on approximately 2,259 farms
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The combined products of Alabama's
goat and sheep industries are valued at
$1.5 million
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Goat meat sells for as much as $3 a
pound in ethnic grocery stores.
Horticulture
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Fruit, pecan, and vegetable production
amounts to around $57 million annually
in cash receipts
The average American eats more than
700 pounds of fruits and vegetables each
year, including more than 300 pounds of
fresh produce.
Pecan production valued $9.9 million in
2008 with over 8.0 million lbs. ranking
Alabama 5th in the nation.
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Peach production valued $6.0 million in 2008
with over 6.1 million lbs. ranking Alabama 17th
in the nation.
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Alabama ranks 5th in sweet potato production,
12th in blueberry production, 16th in freshmarket watermelons and 12th in fresh-market
tomatoes.
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Alabama harvested some 1,250 acres of
tomatoes, and 3,500 acres of watermelons in
2008 that totaled $17.1 million in production.
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Alabama is home to an emerging citrus industry,
with 100 acres of commercial satsuma groves
producing 3.5 million pounds of fruit each year.
Pecans are Alabama’s official state nut.
Commercial growers farm about 12,000 acres
capable of producing about 15 million pounds a
year.
Alabama peach producers will harvest more than
20 million pounds of the fruit in a good year.
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Farmers and ranchers receive only 19
cents out of every retail dollar spent on
food, while 81 cents go to off-farm costs
associated with marketing, processing
and distributing food. In 1980, farmers
received 31 cents out of every food
dollar.
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There are 48,000 people in Alabama who
call themselves farmers.
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And for generations those few families
have dedicated their lives to creating a
$4.7 billion business—Alabama's largest.
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But today, agriculture reaches far beyond
the farm gate. Alabama's agribusiness
industries account for 476,000 jobs with
annual earnings of more than $9 billion.
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That's 21 percent of the state's workforce.
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In fact, 85 percent of all jobs
created by agriculture are not on
the farm at all.
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Together, these industries account for
more than $43 billion or 22 percent of
the state's direct output—more than any
other industry.
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More than 90 percent of the food items
consumed in the United States are
produced whole or in part by American
farmers.
It takes just 36 days for the average
American to earn enough money to buy
their food for an entire year.
In contrast, it takes them 131 days to
earn enough to pay their federal, state
and local taxes for one year.
Disposable Income on Food
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Americans
10%
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Mexico
24.5%
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England
11%
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India
55%
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Australia
15%
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Japan
14%
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Israel
20%
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China
26%
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Phillipines 38%
Agriculture is IMPORTANT to
Alabama!!