Fun Facts

Did you know that Americans consume about 132 pounds of wheat flour per person each year?

The cotton gin first came to Kansas in 1854 when a Polish immigrant wanted to gin local cotton near Valley Falls.

Output from Kansas agriculture has a direct economic impact of $22.5 billion per year.

Did you know that one acre of soybeans can produce 82,368 crayons?

One Kansas farmer raises enough food to feed about 155 people!

Cotton can be found in much more than clothes and other fabrics! Cotton by-products can be used to make paper currency, cosmetics and feed for dairy cattle and livestock.

One bushel of corn fed to livestock produces 5.6 pounds of retail beef, 13 pounds of retail pork, 19.6 pounds of chicken or 28 pounds of catfish.

In pre-refrigeration days, hogs were harvested in the fall and cured for six to seven months, just in time for Easter dinner. That’s how ham came to be the traditional Easter favorite.

Did you know corn tortillas can differ in color based on the type of corn used? Some are white and others are yellow.

Cattle are great recyclers. They convert natural resources that would otherwise be wasted into beef, an edible protein containing 10 essential nutrients such as zinc, iron and B vitamins.  

A bushel of soybeans weighs 60 pounds and produces 11 pounds of oil and 48 pounds of soybean meal.

Kansas grows winter wheat that is planted and sprouts in the fall, becomes dormant in the winter, grows again in the spring and is harvested in early summer.

About two-thirds of the Kansas corn crop is used in-state as livestock feed or in food production. 

One bale of cotton can make 3,085 diapers.

There are about 60-80 pods on a mature soybean plant. Each pod contains three small soybeans.

Compared with 50 years ago, pig farmers are using 41% less water to produce a pound of pork, with a 35% smaller carbon footprint.

The top five agiculture commodities in Kansas are cattle, corn, wheat, soybeans and sorghum.

Farmers in Kansas grow more than 650 million bushels of corn each year. 

In addition to meat, pigs provide us with lots of other products, including valves for human heart surgery, suede for shoes and clothing, and gelatin for many food and non-food uses.

Beef from cows and steers are used in two different ways. Cow meat is used primarily as ground beef for hamburgers and the majority of steer meat is used as steaks.

The largest market for field corn is to provide feed for animals like cattle, pigs, chicken, and even catfish.