Fun Facts

Milk is one of the best sources of calcium. Our bodies absorb 28 percent of the calcium found in milk, but as little as 5 percent of the calcium found in other foods like spinach.

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.

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

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.

The United States grows more soybeans than any other country and six out of every ten rows of soybeans are exported to other countries.

Did you know the corn humans eat is different from the corn that cattle eat? Most of the corn people eat is sweet  corn. Cattle and other livestock eat field corn.

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

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

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

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

The journey from the time a calf is conceived to the time beef is consumed takes 24-30 months and thousands of miles—from ranches, farms, feed yards and packing plants to grocery stores and...

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.

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

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

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

In 2018, farmers in Kansas planted 165,000 acres of cotton, which produced about 335,000 bales!

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.

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...

Did you know Kansas has more than 2 million pigs?

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.

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