Fun Facts

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.

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

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.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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.

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

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

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

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 Kansas has more than 2 million pigs?

Dairy farmers work with animal nutritionists to create recipes that meet the specific nutritional requirements of their cows. A cow’s diet is a combination of hay, grain, silage and proteins,...

Did you know Kansas has an official state soil? It's called Harney silt loam and it covers about 4 million acres of land in our state. 

One bushel of corn makes 2.8 gallons of ethanol.