Idaho’s agriculture industry is no small potatoes. Potato production is a vital force in the Gem State’s economy as the No. 1 potato producer, accounting for 30 percent of the nation’s total potato production. The seed industry is no small feat, either. Up to 85 percent of the sweet corn seed produced in the world takes place in Idaho.
Check out the helpful infographic below showing the top 10 Idaho ag products, based on 2015 cash receipts, plus a fun fact about each. Feel free to share on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter, or contact us to reprint.
Want to learn more about U.S. agriculture? See top ag products from other states by browsing our collection of digital magazines.
What’s Growing in Idaho?
- Dairy Products – $2.35 billion: A dairy cow produces about 6.3 gallons of milk each day and 350,000 glasses of milk in a lifetime.
- Cattle and Calves – $1.95 billion: A steer typically weighs about 1,000 pounds and yields about 450 pounds of edible meat.
- Potatoes – $878 million: Packed with potassium, a medium potato with skin provides 18 percent of the recommended daily value per serving.
- Hay – $440 million: Sheep and goats refuse to eat trampled hay, but cows and horses will gobble it up.
- Wheat – $368 million: A bushel of wheat yields 42 one-an-a-half pound loaves of white bread or 90 one-pound loaves of whole-wheat bread.
- Sugar Beets – $370 million: Sugar beets were first recognized as a valuable sweetening plant source in the 1700s.
- Barley – $268 million: Barley has the most fiber of all the whole grains. in fact, some varieties contain a whopping 30 percent fiber.
- Dry Beans – $93.4 million: Americans eat about 8 pounds of beans per person each year, with pinto and navy beans being the most popular.
- Chicken Eggs – $66.8 million: U.S. poultry farms provide about 10 percent of the world’s egg supply, or 75 billion eggs each year.
- Corn – $60 million: Field corn, which is different from the corn we eat in the summer, is hard and dry when harvested, and used to feed livestock and make ethanol fuel.
When do you harvest the sweet corn?