VOA慢速英语2010年-Agriculture Report - US Farm Exports M

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Two thousand ten was a good year for American farmers. They earned an estimated eighty-two billion dollars. That is almost one-third more than they earned last year. And it is twenty-six percent higher than the ten-year average.

The numbers are from the Economic Research Service at the Department of Agriculture. They represent net farm income, a measure of profitability of farm operations.

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.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack points out that agriculture is one of the few major areas of the economy with a trade surplus. A surplus of forty-one billion dollars is predicted in twenty-eleven. That would be an increase of almost eighteen billion dollars from this year.

At the same time, farm exports are expected to break the all-time high set in two thousand eight. The Agriculture Department says exports in this coming year could top one hundred 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.

Harvesting soybeans in Pleasant Plains, Illinois

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 this year.

Charlotte Hebebrand is chief executive of the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council in Washington. She says drought conditions had a big effect over the summer.

CHARLOTTE HEBEBRAND: "There were severe weather problems, not just in Russia but also in some of the other former Soviet¹ Union countries."

Wheat prices rose after Russia halted wheat exports, although Russia later eased the ban.

Wheat used to be America's top crop, says economist² Charlotte Hebebrand.

CHARLOTTE HEBEBRAND: "What's interesting, though, is that wheat production has actually declined over the past few years because corn has become the most popular crop."

Corn, or maize³, is mostly fed to animals or made into ethanol fuel and high-fructose corn syrup⁴. But Ms. Hebebrand says 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 through subsidy⁵ payments.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. You can find transcripts⁶ and MP3s of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Jim Tedder⁷.

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

3 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

4 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

5 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

6 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

7 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网