Fun Facts

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

Output from Kansas agriculture has a direct economic impact of $22.5 billion per year.

Did you know Kansas farmers grow about 330 million bushels of wheat each year? That’s enough to make 23 billion loaves of bread!

Within an hour of birth calves are up and ready to nurse. A baby calf will drink a gallon of milk a day.

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

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

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

Fertilizer contains a lot of helpful nutrients, thanks to Mother Nature! Potash, which is salt from ancient evaporated oceans, is used in fertilizer to feed our soil.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Cotton bolls, which are the puffs of white produced by cotton plants, are technically fruit.

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.

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

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

Small engines like lawnmowers and boats can use E10 fuel.

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.

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.