Nancy Trautmann, Keith Porter, Robert Wagenet - Cornell University. Agriculture has been a major component of the United States economy since colonial days, when 9 out of 10 working persons were employed on a farm. Produclivity of American agriculture has tripled since then, and today only 3 percent of our labor force produces enough food and fiber to meet domestic needs as well as supplying about 10 percent of total overseas consumption. This increase has been the result of including use of fertilizer, and pesticides, introduction of farm machinery, development of hybrid strains, and increased knowledge about farm management practices.
