Do you know how important U.S. farmers are? Check out these eye-popping facts about American farmers, ranchers and growers.

Only three million people farm or ranch today in the United States, but they produce an amazing variety and quantity of fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products. Here are ten amazing facts about U.S. farmers and their essential role in our daily lives.

1. Each year, one American farmer produces enough to feed about 140 people each day.
2. With modern methods, one acre of land (about the size of a football field) can produce: 42,000 pounds of strawberries, 11,000 heads of lettuce, 25,400 pounds of potatoes or 8,900 pounds of sweet corn.
3. Agriculture is America's top export. About 17% of raw U.S. agriculture products are exported yearly.
4. Agriculture generates 20% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.
5. U.S. farmers produce 46% of the world's soybeans, 41% of the world's corn, 20.5% of the world's cotton and 13% of the world's wheat.
6. Florida accounts for 67% of total U.S. citrus production.
7. Florida ranks first in the United States for sales of snap beans, fresh market tomatoes, cucumbers for fresh market, cucumbers for pickles, bell peppers, squash and watermelons.
8. Forty-one percent of the total land in the United States is farmland (938.28 million acres).
9. U.S. Farmers maintain more than 1.3 million acres of grass waterways, allowing water to flow naturally from crops without eroding soil.
10. Agricultural land provides habitat for 75% of the nation's wildlife.

Sources: Agriculture Council of America, Florida Agriculture Department

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