by Kyle Despain, Wyoming FFA 3rd Vice President
photo by Teresa Milner, Dirt Road Wife Photography
Drive across Wyoming and you’ll see evidence of our tradition of crop production. But many people don’t understand crop production’s role in Wyoming agriculture. For example, did you know…
- Agriculture is among the top three industries in Wyoming, with cash receipts at nearly 2 billion dollars annually.
- Wyoming hosts the largest average sizes of farms and ranches in the United States. With large sizes means large numbers of crop production, specifically 2.4 million acres of cropland.
- The top five crops produced in Wyoming are hay, sugar beets, barley, dry beans and wheat.
- Wyoming’s hay, which accounted for 41% of crop cash receipts in 2016, has been known for its quality which includes protein content, leafiness and feed value. Wyoming’s hay will be shipped around the United States for horse and dairy feeding. Wyoming’s hay value in 2016 totaled a whopping 264 million dollars.
- Wyoming second most popular crop is the sugar beet which accounted for 14% of crop receipts in 2016. Wyoming produced 951,000 tons of sugar beets in 2016. Now that’s what I call sweet!
- Wyoming’s crop production totaled around 500 million dollars which is nearly one-quarter of all agricultural cash receipts.
- Not all statistical analysis can capture what crop production in Wyoming provides for the state. The western spirit still lives true in Wyoming, this is the main attraction for tourists that visit Wyoming. Tourists have been known to visit local farmers for homemade jams and jellies! The impact that Wyoming crop production has not only helps the number 3 industry in Wyoming being agriculture but also benefits number 2, tourism and attractions.