2010 was a good year for American farmers. They earned about eighty-two billion dollars. That is almost one-third more than that they earned last year. And it is twenty-six percent higher than the ten-year average. Values for grain and oilseed crops are up about three percent from last year. The value of animal production is up by almost seven percent. In 2011, farm exports are expected to break the all-time high set in 2008.The Agriculture Department says exports in 2011 could top one hundred and twenty-six billion dollars. The largest buyer of agricultural products is expected to be Canada. But farm exports to China are predicted to come within five hundred million dollars of Canadian purchases. Secretary Vilsack says countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East are also buying more from American farmers. Poor growing conditions overseas played an important part in higher prices for American crops in 2010.Charlotte Hebe brand is chief executive of the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council in Washington. She said drought conditions had a big effect over the summer. She said,"There were horrible weather problems, not just in Russia but also in some of the other former Soviet Union countries." Wheat prices rose after Russia stopped wheat exports,although Russia later eased the ban ."Wheat used to be America's top crop. What's interesting,though,is that wheat production has actually become less over the past few years because corn has become the most popular crop,"said economist Charlotte Hebebrand. Corn is mostly fed to animals. But Miss Hebebrand said with the recent increase in wheat prices, American farmers might plant more wheat again. Corn and wheat are the two largest crops supported by the government. We can infer that in the past few years American farmers----
reduced crop exports increased corn production increased wheat production increased investment in farming