Industry Facts

Kansas ranked 2nd nationally with 6.3 million cattle on ranches and in feedyards as of January 1, 2011. That is a little over twice the states's human population of over 2.818 million.

Cattle represented 46% of the 2009 Kansas agricultural cash receipts.

Cattle consume 72% of the corn, 16% of the soybeans and 60% of the hay grown in Kansas.

Kansas has 46.2 million acres of farm ground; however, not all of this land can be used to grow crops. Cattle are the ideal mechanism for efficiently utilizing grasses and plants growing on the 17.5 million acres of Kansas pasture and rangeland. These acres are not suited for the production of cultivated crops and would be wasted if it were not for ruminants, such as cattle, turning these resources into essential protein and nutrients for human use.

Facts from Kansas Ag Statistics.