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.

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

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.

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

For a dessert to officially be considered ice cream, it must contain at least 10 percent milkfat.

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.

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 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.

One bushel of corn makes 2.8 gallons of ethanol.

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

A finished bale of cotton weighs about 480 pounds.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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!

Wheat flour is a good source of complex carbohydrates and contains protein. Plus, it’s low in fat and sodium.

One 60-pound bushel of wheat provides about 42 pounds of white flour, enough for about 70, one-pound loaves of white bread.

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