With the advent and proliferation of the Internet and Web access, a multitude of information has become immediately accessible to anyone with a computer and a phone line. Providing home-spun wisdom and advice has been a hallmark of The Old Farmers Almanac since 1792, and their site features quite a bit of free information that will be useful to new visitors and familiar to long-time fans of the...

These two sites should be useful for urban planners or anyone interested in the issues surrounding development and "sprawl." The first, a report from the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the US Department of Agriculture, covers the "forces driving development, its character and impacts on agriculture and rural communities, the means available to channel and control growth, and the pros and cons...

Providing graphic and statistical representation of weekly, monthly, and yearly sales, the US Export Sales Reports track primary American commodities marketed abroad, including wheat, cotton, feed grains, oilseeds, rice, beef, and hides and skins. Especially from a lay person's perspective, the level of detail of each report is astonishingly minute and analytical. For instance, for wheat and...

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) publishes hundreds of reports, papers, fact sheets, and other documents each year for use by the general public, scholars, and members of the press. Much of this work is generated by the Economic Research Service (ERS) division, and this impressive report is one of those key documents. Published in February 2013, this work offers up the USDA's...

The Census of Agriculture is the leading source of facts and figures about American agriculture. It is conducted every five years, and contains a tremendous amount of data, including information on the market value of products, production expenses, and crop cycles. The bright and well-designed website contains a Popular Topics area where visitors can find historical agricultural census data, read...