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Agriculture Then and Now

	1860*	2010**	% Change
Number of farms	2,044,000	2,201,000	7.68
Total acreage	407,213,000	921,000,000	126.17
Average acreage per farm	199	418	110.05
Total U.S. population	31,443,321*** (10.6/sq. mi)	308,745,538 (87.4/sq. mi)	881.91
Labor force in agriculture	15,141,000***	2,113,000	-86.05
% of population in agriculture	48%	0.68%	N/A

*Historical Statistics of the United States (Millennial Edition Online),
Cambridge University Press - date accessed 2/6/09

**2012 Statistical Abstract (online), U.S. Census Bureau -
date accessed 4/5/12

***Estimate from Growing A Nation: The Story of American Agriculture -
date accessed 2/6/09