cynthia clark, how many farms are there in the u.s.? >> guest: in 2010, there were 2.2 million farms in the u.s.. this number has been fairly constant for the last 20 years. you'll notice that the graph, it does show a slight in connection with. this is mostly because -- from 1990 to 2010 -- 1990 and 2000, there was a change in definition that included horse farms and christmas tree farms that accounted for a slight increase, and the last census, 2010, the -- we have been able to increase the coverage of minority farms and small farms and disadvantaged farms, so probably the number has been pretty constant for the last 20 years. >> host: one of the startling figures here though is the drop from 1960 to 1970 in the number of farms, 3.9, almost 4 million farms to 2.8 million. where did all those folks go? do you keep track of that information as well? >> guest: there was an increase in farm productivity, part of the reason for the drop, and there's an increase of people leaving the farm m i think bob can give you more information on what

cynthia clark of the usda and bob young of the american farm bureau association joins us. "washito

cynthia clark is the administrator. bob young is the chief economist with the american farm bureau federation. dr. clark, what is the national agricultural statistics service? >calleguest: it is one of 14 mar federal statistics agency. we collect data that is timely and useful on agriculture. the other agencies focus on other sectors of the economy. we issue over 500 reports each year. they are issued all through the year. we have weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual, and we even have a sense is done every five years. host: what is the value in these reports? guest: the value is to a large number stakeholders. the commodity traders are very interested in our reports. farmers, ranchers, investors, agribusiness, policy makers as well. a wide community of users. host: you have from your reports ranking of u.s. farm products by cash receipts in 2010. u.s. farms sold $314 billion worth of products in 2010. cattle being the most audible, followed by corn and poultry and eggs, etc.. guest: guess, that is a very important statist

after that, cynthia clark of the usda national

cynthia clark and bob young join us. "washington journal," each morning at 7 eastern here on c- span. later in the evening on c-span2, vice president joe biden will be the keynote speaker at the florida democratic party convention in orlando. our live coverage starting at 7:30 p.m. eastern. >> spend this weekend in knoxville, tenn. and look behind the scenes at the history and literary life of the model city. the university of tennessee has 4 acres of decomposing human remains. also, a look at alex haley and his life in knocks bill. find out how he fell in love with the city during a 1982 visit. on c-span3, a visit to the sequoyah birthplace museum. also a visit to secret city, oak ridge laboratory historian on the development of the atomic bomb. ville a true southern city? watched throughout the weekend on book tv and american history tv in knoxville, tennessee. >> coming up shortly, secretary of state clinton testifies about u.s. foreign policy priorities and gives an update on the situation in pakistan and afghanistan