Fun Facts

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

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

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

Gluten is what helps bread expand while the dough rises, and hold its shape while baking and after it cools. It’s also what makes bread chewy.

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

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

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

Drink local with milk! It takes about 48 hours for milk to travel from dairy farms to the grocery store.

Did you know some of the fertilizer farmers add to the soil comes from the air we breathe? Companies can convert nitrogen in the air into nitrogen to nourish the ground.

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

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.

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.

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.

Kansas is known for its sunflowers. They provide food for insects, birds and cattle, and make great cooking oil, biofuel and a delicious snack for people!

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.

Did you know that in Kansas cows outnumber people 2-to1? There are almost 3 million people and more than 6 million cattle!

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

Kansas exports more than $4.8 billion in agricultural products per year.

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.

There are 7 different breeds of dairy cattle. Farmers choose their breeds based on milk production, size and even personality.