Here Photo caption below Farm productivity almost doubled from 1960 to 1992, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. Since the 1930s, the farm labor force has declined by about three-fourths, and cropland in use has decreased by 10 percent. In contrast, labor productivity in the nonfarm business sector during the same time period has increased only 2.6 fold.
Farmers are far more educated.
Average schooling increased from about eight years of schooling just after WW II to more than 13 years in the '90s. In addition, the private and public sectors have provided ongoing educational programs for farmers, such as those provided by the Cooperative Extension Service. Some specific data show the increases in selected areas of farming. That's about two bushels per year. In fact, U.S. corn yields have doubled about every 30 years in this century, according to Ralph Gann, USDA's Agricultural Statistics Service state statistician for Indiana.