What’s your ‘Ag IQ’? Twenty questions to test your knowledge

From Virginia Cooperative Extension
Published: July 17, 2008

Quick, what’s oatmeal made of?
If you’re like the folks questioned in a recent national survey, half of you will have answered wheat. That’s right. A recent Gallup poll revealed when it comes to the origins of their food, Americans aren’t exactly outstanding in their fields. Not only do half of us think oatmeal is made of wheat (it’s made from oats, in case you’re wondering), but half of us don’t realize that white bread is made from wheat.
Of course our ignorance makes sense to some degree-fewer than five out of every 100 Americans now grow up on a farm. Most of us think food simply comes from the grocery store.
The following quiz-you can’t flunk it, don’t worry-is aimed at teaching all of us a little bit more about agriculture today.
You may be surprised to learn that farming and food affects so many aspects of our lives. And next time those Gallup people call you up, you can answer with confidence that yes, rice cakes are definitely made of rice.
Quiz:
1. How much corn in a bag of corn chips?
Yes, corn chips are made of corn-about 62 percent corn, 75 percent if they’re tortilla-style. Yet when you plunk down your $2.49 for a 16-ounce bag, only about 25 cents goes back to the farmer. More goes to the folks who produced the oil they were fried in than the guy who grew the corn.
2. How big is an acre?
An acre is 43,560 square feet, or about the size of a football field minus the end zones.
3. How many bags of corn chips can you get from an acre of corn?
About 5,600 16-ounce bags. The U.S. harvests 6.9 billion bushels of corn every year, enough to supply every man, woman and child an 8-ounce bag of corn chips every day.
4.Which weighs more-a gallon of whole milk, with 4 percent cream, or skim milk with 0 percent?

A gallon of skim milk actually weighs more than a gallon of whole milk because skim milk contains more non-fat solids, which weigh more than cream.
5. How much cream is in ice cream?
Ice cream has to contain at least 10 percent butterfat to merit that name-anything with less than that has be labeled ice milk, or some such thing. By the way, each of us eats an average of 14.3 quarts of ice cream each y ear, with our favorite flavors being vanilla, chocolate, butter pecan, and strawberry, in that order.
6. Which has more vitamin C, an orange or a bell pepper?
Believe it or not, the bell pepper has more vitamin C than the orange.
7. How many farmers in the U.S. today?
There are 2.1 million U.S. farms, and if you figure at least two people earning a living off of each of those farms, you’d have 4.2 million farmers, about the population of Louisiana.
One farmer today grows enough food to feed 120 people. In 1957, one farmer grew enough for 27 people.
8. How many ears of corn in a hamburger?
Wait a minute. You thought you knew for sure that hamburgers were made of beef. You’re right-but beef cattle are fed on grain, and there are about four ears of corn represented in just one burger.
9. How many burgers do you get from one cow?
About 1,600 quarter-pound hamburgers come from a steer weighing an average of 1,100 pounds.
10. Why are dairy cows always black and white?
It’s not because they belong in old-time movies. The familiar white-with-black-splotches cows are members of the Holstein breed, the most popular for dairying because they give the most milk per cow-an average of 4.5 gallons per day.
11. Which states have dairy farms?
All 50 states, even Hawaii, because it used to be that milk simply didn’t keep long enough to transport it from one state to another.
12. How much water is in watermelon?
About 90 percent of a typical watermelon is water.
13. What’s America’s favorite fresh fruit?
The average American eats more bananas (about 25 pounds a year) than any other fruit.
14. How much does a family of four spend for food per week?
The typical family of four spends $100 a week, with $23 of that going for meals away from home. Altogether, Americans spend 10 percent of their disposable incomes on food, one of the lowest proportions in the world.
15. What food has grown the most in popularity over the last 20 years?
President Bush may not like the answer, but it’s fresh broccoli. Consumption increased 940 percent to about 3.5 pounds per person per year.
16. Which do Americans eat more of, chicken or beef?
We still eat more beef, but just barely. Back in 1976, chicken consumption was less than half that of beef.
17. Where can you buy the cheapest sirloin steak in the world?
Brasilia, Brazil comes in the winner, with sirloin steak there costing just $1.25 a pound. The most expensive steak is in Tokyo, at a wallet-breaking $25.88 per pound.
18. What’s America’s most popular beverage?
If you count alcoholic beverages, it’s beer, at more than 34 gallons per capita. Second is soft drinks, at more than 27 gallons per year.
19. How many sweaters do you get from one sheep?
Five sweaters can be made from one sheep’s wool in a typical year.
20. How long can a person live without food?
A person in good health can expect to live just seven or eight weeks without food.
—From Virginia Cooperative Extension