Economic Brief No. (EB-9) 7 pp

September 2007

Productivity Growth in U.S. Agriculture

Innovation and changes in technology have been a driving force for gains in productivity growth in U.S. agriculture. USDA's Economic Research Service has developed annual indexes of agricultural inputs, outputs, and total factor productivity (TFP) for 1948 through 2004. American agriculture relies almost entirely on productivity growth to raise output. By lowering the cost of agricultural commodities, productivity growth benefits not only farmers but also food manufacturers and consumers.

Keywords: Agriculture, productivity, productivity growth, total factor productivity, TFP, labor, farm economy, prices, agricultural research, agricultural output, technology

In this publication...