Fun Facts

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. 

Did you know Kansas has more than 2 million pigs?

Did you know cotton is becoming a big crop in Kansas? Last year, farmers here produced over 164 million pounds of cotton! 

A finished bale of cotton weighs about 480 pounds.

Enriched white bread and other enriched grain products are a good source of iron and B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid), as well as complex carbohydrates.

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

One bale of cotton can make 3,085 diapers.

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

Mexico and Japan are our top international corn buyers. They buy 50 percent of U.S. corn exports.

All the wheat grown in Kansas in a single year would fit in a train stretching from western Kansas to the Atlantic Ocean.

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.

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

About four percent of the land in Kansas is part of conservation or wetland reserve programs.

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.

Pig farmers have reduced greenhouse gas emissions on pig farms by 35% per pound of pork by changing how crops are raised, how pigs are fed, and how nutrients are recycled.

Soybean oil is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E.

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

One cowhide can produce enough leather to make 20 footballs, 18 soccer balls, 18 volleyballs or 12 basketballs.

One dairy cow can produce more than 3,000 gallons of milk in a year. There are about 160,000 dairy cows in Kansas. That's a lot of milk!

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