Fun Facts

Grain sorghum is one of the oldest known grains. Its origins can be traced back to ancient Africa and India.

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

Grains can be categorized into food grains (for people) and feed grains (for cattle). Cattle eat feed grains like field corn and grain sorghum. An average of 4 ½ pounds of grain is used to produce a...

Sorghum can be used to make environmentally-friendly packing peanuts, fencing materials, floral arrangements, brooms and more!

About a third of a steer is used for beef production. The rest of the animal is used to make by-products found in medicines, cosmetics, detergents, insulation, and much more!

About one-third of the milk produced in the U.S. is used for making cheese.

More than 87 percent of land in Kansas is farmland.

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.

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

It takes five to six months for a pig to reach market weight (about 265 pounds). One market hog provides about 160 pounds of pork for the grocery store’s meat case.

The majority of oil used for cooking in our country is U.S.-grown 100% soybean oil!

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

There are more than 29 cuts of beef that meet government guidelines for lean, including tenderloin, T-bone steak and extra lean ground beef.

The average Kansas dairy cow produces about 7 gallons of milk each day. That’s more than 2,544 gallons of milk over the course of a typical year.

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.

Corn is produced on every continent of the world with the exception of Antarctica. 

98 percent of all corn farms are family-run farms.

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

Sows give birth (called farrowing) to an average of eight to twelve piglets at a time and will raise six to eight litters of piglets in their lifetime.

Energy experts estimate global ethanol production and use reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 110 million metric tons per year. That’s equivalent to taking more than 20 million vehicles off the road.

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