THREE RESOURCES FOR MEMBERS FOR AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SAFEY DATA By Gustavo Reyes, Food Safety Manager
fruits, tree nuts and berries and 41 percent of the value of vegetables. In 2022, 74.6 percent of the lettuce area harvested was in California and 17.7 percent of the lettuce area harvested was in Arizona, totaling 92.3 percent of lettuce area harvested in the U.S. Similarly, area harvested from multiple Census reports can be used to look at production trends of cantaloupes per state. See Figure 1 as an example as a plot for the top 10 states by cantaloupe area harvested, where California and Arizona have consistently been the top two producing states. USDA ERS Yearbook Tables: Production and Trade Data The USDA Economic Research Service develops yearbook tables for fruits, tree nuts, vegetables and pulses. These yearbook tables can be used to develop timeseries of annual production, prices, trade use and more for all these different commodities. Analysis of this data can allow growers to understand trends and help assess production plans for upcoming years.
Staying informed about production trends, economic information and food safety is extremely important for grower operations. Data analysis helps in making informed decisions regarding farm management, production and food safety. This article highlights three resources that provide valuable insights into trends in the produce world and food safety: the Census of Agriculture, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) Yearbook Tables and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Data Dashboard. Census of Agriculture: Comprehensive Agricultural Data Every five years, the USDA conducts The Census of Agriculture. The Census of Agriculture offers extensive data and statistics related to land use, production practices, income and expenditures. The 2022 Census of Agriculture was released in March of this year (2024). Some key takeaways from this year’s census include California accounting for 68 percent of the value of
Figure 1: To access the data: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.
10 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com July | August 2024
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker