Source: MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated press, Winston-Salem Journal, also Fayetteville Observer, News & Observer, Charlotte Observer, WRAL, 2/21/14

WASHINGTON (AP) -- American agriculture has experienced a boom, with market values of crops, livestock and total agricultural products reaching record highs even as the amount of U.S. farmland declined, according to a new government survey.

Continuing a long-term trend, the number of U.S. farms dropped to 2.1 million in 2012, about a 4 percent drop from five years earlier