Productivity in U.S. Agriculture

Productivity--output per unit of input--should not be confused with production--actual output--or productive capacity--potential output. The quantity and quality of resources employed (influenced by costs, prices, policy regulations, and management), as well as technological innovations emerging from research and development, influence productivity changes. Farm-sector productivity is generally increasing, although weather induces year-to-year variations. Productivity trends, both regionally and among commodities, differ significantly from national aggregates. Marketing-sector labor productivity has been more volatile than farm-sector labor productivity. Two measures of food-manufacturing-sector productivity demonstrate the effect of input quality on measured productivity