Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 17, 1993 TAG: 9303170095
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-12 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Joe Hunnings
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
TEST YOUR FARMING KNOWLEDGE
Raspberries in February . . . asparagus in November . . . and pineapples all the year 'round.Whatever food we want, American consumers usually can get it whenever they please. Our supermarket shelves are stuffed with fresh produce, grains, meats and packaged goods - all thanks to America's farmers.
Their productivity and ingenuity provide a plentiful and abundant supply of affordable food for us daily.
During National Agriculture Week - this week - we celebrate the 20th anniversary of honoring America's agricultural providers. Thank you to the 21 million men and women, whose initiative, ingenuity and hard work provide us plentiful, high quality, affordable foods every day of the year.
Now test your agricultural knowledge by taking the Americans and Food Quiz developed by the Economic Research Service of the USDA:
1. What food showed the largest percentage gain in consumption over the past 20 years? A. Yogurt. B. Low-calorie sweeteners. C. Fresh broccoli. D. Low-fat milk.
2. What was the world's largest food processing firm in 1988? A. Nestle. B. RJR Nabisco. C. Ralston Purina. D. Philip Morris Cos. Inc.
3. Let's check your knowledge of the many "new" foods available these days. Do you know what surimi is? A. A type of cabbage. B. A fish product. C. A fat substitute. D. An artificial sweetener.
4. How many eggs did the average American consumer in 1989? A. 78. B. 112. C. 234. D. 329.
5. Cheddar is America's favorite cheese. What's No. 2? A. Swiss. B. Mozzarella. C. Parmesan. D. Provolone.
6. What region of the country drinks the least milk per person? A. Northeast. B. South. C. Midwest. D. West.
7. These days you are as likely to find some interesting produce at your local market. Which of these is not a fruit or vegetable currently imported into the United States? A. Nilquat. B. Burdock. C. Ugli fruit. D. Cardoon.
8. What is the name of the largest foreign-owned food retailer in the United States? A. Giant Food Stores. B. Food Lion. C. Shaw's Supermarkets. D. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co. (A&P).
9. Which type restaurant showed the largest percentage gain in the number of franchises between 1973 and 1988? A. Hamburgers and roast beef. B. Chicken. C. Steak, full menu. D. Pizza.
10. Americans spend a smaller share of income on food than people in any other country. What percentage of after-tax income did the average American spend for food in 1989? A. 5.6 percent. B. 11.6 percent. C. 26.1 percent. D. 40.3 percent.
11. How much does the average family of four spend for food weekly? A. $75. B. $100. C. $130. D. $150.
12. What's the farmer's share of the average grocery store food dollar? A. 7 percent. B. 19 percent. C. 30 percent. D. 51 percent.
13. The farmer's share of the retail food dollar varies greatly among foods. Can you guess the share for eggs? A. 15 percent. B. 29 percent. C. 50 percent. D. 65 percent.
14. The average farm in the United States is what size? A. 88 acres. B. 151 acres. C. 297 acres. D. 461 acres.
15. What percentage of the U.S. population farmed in 1890? In 1990? A. 39.3 percent; 2.3 percent. B. 75.6 percent; 13 percent. C. 20.9 percent; 10.1 percent. D. 25 percent; 27 percent.
16. How many people were fed by U.S. farm workers in 1890? In 1990? A. 20; 22. B. 6; 98. C. 26; 51. D. 90; 200.
17. What states had the most farms in 1890? In 1990? A. Virginia; California. B. Pennsylvania; Nebraska. C. Georgia; Iowa. D. Ohio; Texas.
18. Cash receipts for farmers in Virginia were greatest for which agriculture crop commodity in 1991? A. Corn. B. Tobacco. C. Peanuts. D. Soybeans.
19. According to the 1987 Virginia Agricultural Statistics which county in the New River Valley had the highest agricultural cash receipts from crops and livestock? A. Giles. B. Floyd. C. Montgomery. D. Pulaski.
20. What percentage of U.S. jobs are currently generated by the agriculture industry? A. 17 percent. B. 2 percent. C. 26 percent. D. 9 percent.
Quiz answers
1. C. Correct answer is fresh broccoli, which rose 940 percent to 3.4 pounds per person a year by 1986-88.
2. A. Nestle, a Swiss firm, ranked first with $31 billion in processed food sales in 1989. Philip Morris Cos. Inc., which owns Kraft/General Foods, was second.
3. B. Surimi is a minced-fish product used to manufacture products that simulate crab, shrimp, and other popular seafood.
4. C. Correct answer is 234, with shell eggs accounting for more than 80 percent. The remainder were used in the production of liquid, frozen and dried egg produces used mainly to manufacture such items as pasta and baked goods.
5. B. Mozzarella ranked second, with the pizza boom helping to quadruple consumption to about six pounds per person in 1988.
6. B. Correct answer is the South, because milk prices tend to be higher.
7. A. Nilquat is just a nonsense word. Burdock is a long, thin brownish root used in Japanese cooking. Ugli fruit looks like a greenish-yellow, loose skinned grapefruit and comes from Jamaica. Cardoon is a thistle-like artichoke relative resembling an extra-large celery head.
8. D. correct store is A&P which is 51-percent owned by Tengleman AG, a German retailing firm. Giant Food Stores of Carlisle, Pa.; Food Lion; and Shaw's Supermarkets also are foreign-owned.
9. D. According to the National Restaurant Association report, pizza franchises were the big winners, rising more than 650 percent between 1973 and 1990.
10. B. Food spending accounted for 11.6 percent of after-tax income to 1989.
11. B. Correct answer is about $100 a week, with spending highest for bakery, beef and dairy products.
12. C. The farm share value is 30 percent, down from 37 percent in 1980.
13. D. The farmer averages 65 percent of each dollar spent on eggs in the supermarket, compared with 9 percent for Corn Flakes.
14. D. The average farm is 461 acres, with assets of $409,000, and debt of about $67,000.
15. A. Approximately 2 percent of the U.S. population lives on farms today. When the Constitution was signed it was 90 percent.
16. B. One American farm provides food and fiber for 98 people. The U.S. agricultural work force produces 40 percent of the world's corn crop, 15 percent of the world's cotton, 50 percent of the world's soybeans, 10 percent of the world wheat, 25 percent of the world's beef and 11 percent of the world's pork.
17. D. Texas had the greatest number in 1990 - 186,000 farms. By comparison, Virginia had 46,000 farms.
18. B. Tobacco only accounted for 2 percent of the harvested crop acreage in Virginia but cash receipts totaled $197 million. Soybeans were second at $88 million.
19. B. Floyd had total cash receipts of $14.9 million, ranking it 31st out the all Virginia counties.
20. A. The U.S. agriculture system represents 16 percent of our nation's GNP. It provides 17 percent of the entire U.S. work force, with almost 90 percent of these jobs off the farm.
Joe Hunnings is the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service agent for agriculture in Christiansburg. If you have questions call the Montgomery County extension office at 382-5790.