1. THIS WOULD BE THE LAND AVAILABLE FOR AG
IF THIS WAS THE EARTH
Or look at this with an eye toward the future…as the world population is growing…
This apple analogy demonstrates why farmers need to use pesticides to increase their yields.
THIS WOULD BE THE LAND AVAILABLE FOR AG

2. QUARTER SLICE EQUALS TOTAL EARTH LAND MASS
Imagine this apple represents the earth, then cut it into quarters. One of those quarters is proportional to the total land mass on our planet. The other three quarters represent all the oceans, seas, rivers and lakes.

3. ONLY ONE-EIGHTH FOR FOOD
If we take the quarter that represents land and halve it, one piece symbolizes inhospitable areas that are buried under ice, rock or desert. The remaining piece – one-eighth of our apple, is capable of growing food.

4. THREE DEVOTED TO CITIES, TOWNS, HIGHWAYS, FORESTS
But even that piece must be cut into four. Three of those slices account for the land devoted to cities, towns, highways, parks, public lands and forests.

5. REMAINING THREE PERCENT REPRESENTS LAND TO GROW FOOD FOR 6+ BILLION
The remaining tiny slice – about 3 percent – represents the land left to grow food for more than 6 billion people.

6. PEEL LIKE SOIL, LESS THAN FIVE FEET DEEP, THIN SKIN OF THE EARTH’S CRUST UPON WHICH WE DEPEND
Peel this small piece of apple. The peel is something like our soil. Less than five feet deep, it is the thin skin of the earth’s crust upon which humankind depends.

7. BY 2022, TO SUSTAIN 8 BILLION, FARMERS MUST INCREASE YIELDS FROM EXISTING ACRES
In 20 years, that small piece of the earth will be responsible for sustaining as many as 8 billion people, up from about 6 billion of us today. It can do that only if farmers can increase their yields from existing farm acres.