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More Grain, Less Land

PRI Staff
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Thanks to the continuing increases in crop yields, the world’s farmers now actually harvest several hundred million tons more grain each year on tens of millions of acres less land than formerly harvested in the 1970s and 1980s.

WORLD TOTAL GRAINS 1

MILLIONS OF METRIC TONS/HECTARES

Crop Year

Area Harvested

Yield2

Production

1972/73

661.1

1.73

1140.6

1973/74

688.1

1.82*

1253.1*

1974/75

690.5

1.74

1203.6

1975/76

707.6

1.75

1236.7

1976/77

716.5

1.87*

1342.1*

1977/78

714.1

1.85

1319.5

1978/79

713.3

2.03*

1445.5*

1979/80

710.7

1.98

1410.4

1980/81

722.3

1.98

1429.9

1981/82

732.4

2.02

1482.2*

1982/83

716.9

2.14*

1533.4*

1983/84

707.8

2.08

1469.5

1984/85

711.2

2.29*

1632.0*

1985/86

715.8

2.30*

1646.7*

1986/87

710.4

2.34*

1664.8*

1987/88

686.7

2.33

1597.8

1988/89

688.4

2.25

1549.3

1989/90

695

2.40*

1670.9*

1990/91

695.4

2.54*

1769.2*

1991/92

692.8

2.47

1708.3

1992/93

695.3

2.57*

1789.9*

1993/94 3

685.6

2.5

1713

1994/95

685.9

2.57

1759.8

1995/96 3

680.7

2.52

1712.7

1996/97

702.4

2.66*

1870.6*

1997/98

690.5

2.72*

1879.9*

1998/99

684.8

2.73*

1872.9

1999/2000

674.1

2.78*

1873.1

2000/01

664

2.68

1778.2

2001/02 4

515.5

2.9

1472

2002/03 4

506.6

2.8

1439

2003/04 4

513.2

2.8

1455

2004/05 4

517.9

3.1

1593

TOTAL WORLD RICE 4

Crop Year

Area Harvested

Rough Production

Milled

2001/02 4

150.2

3.95

398.6

2002/03 4

145.7

3.86

377.8

2003/04 4

149.8

3.86

388.1

2004/05 4

149.7

3.95

397.8

1965/66-1971/72 data excerpted from World Grain Situation and Outlook, April 1993, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 30; 1972/73-2000/01 data from Grain: World Markets and Trade, April 2001, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

* New record

1 Grains include (a) wheat, (b) coarse grains (corn barley, oats, rye, sorghum and millet) and (c) rice.

2 In metric tons per hectare. One hectare equals 2.47 acres.

3 The production shortfalls of 1993/94 and 1995/96, eagerly seized upon by overpopulation propagandists as proof that the world had exceeded its carrying capacity, were entirely due to reduced harvests in the United States. Because of unprecedented flooding in much of the Midwest, U.S. grain production in 1993/94 declined by more than 93 million metric tons from the previous year’s record harvest, while the decline in 1995/96 was 80 MMT. In the rest of the world, however, grain production increased in both years: by 19 and 22 million metric tons, respectively.

4 Http://www.fas.usda.gov/grain/circular/2004/ 1 0 – 0 4 / h i s t _ t b l. x l s

http://www.fas.usda.gov/grain/circular/2004/10-04/graintoc.htm

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