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Abstract
Farm and farm-related employment rose by 5.1 million jobs during 1975-89, but most of the growth was in off-farm agricultural wholesale and retail trade (fig, 1). Production jobs on the farm dropped by 780,000. Farm production jobs continued their long-term decline, as new technology replaced labor, and periods of unfavorable farm economic conditions induced farmers to leave farming. Farm production accounted for less than 14 percent (3.2 million in 1989) of the 23 million U.S. farm and farm-related jobs, which include businesses that provide farm inputs and process or sell agricultural goods. Employment in wholesale and retail trade of agricultural products rose to account for more than 50 percent of total farm and farm-related employment.