The Most Valuable Agricultural Commodity in Each State
The United States has an incredible amount of geographic diversity.
From the fertile farmland of the Great Plains to the volcanic islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, each state has been dealt a unique geographical hand.
Each geographical setting can be the source of economic opportunities, such as tourism or the development of natural resources. It also partially dictates what kind of agricultural choices are available for farmers and local economies.
A Higher Level Look
Today’s infographic comes to us from HowMuch.net, and it color codes each state based on the most valuable agricultural commodity it produces, based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
At a big picture level, how does the country break down?
| Most Valuable Agricultural Commodity | Number of States |
|---|---|
| Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | 16 |
| Poultry and eggs | 9 |
| Cattle and calves | 7 |
| Milk from cows | 7 |
| Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture and sod | 4 |
| Fruit, tree nuts, and berries | 3 |
| Vegetables, melons, potatoes and sweet potatoes | 2 |
| Aquaculture | 1 |
| Other crops and hay | 1 |
Broadly speaking, the category of “Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas” is the most valuable agricultural commodity in 16 states, while aquaculture was the most important in only one state, which is Alaska.
It’s interesting that there are niches that end up deriving massive amounts of value in only a few states. For example, the category of “Fruit, tree nuts, and berries” is the biggest in just three states, but California makes $17.6 billion from it every year – more than the size of the entire agricultural sector of some states.
State by State Data
Finally, here’s a look at the data for each state in a sortable table:
| Rank | State | Agricultural Commodity | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | Fruit, tree nuts, and berries | $17,638,972,000 |
| #2 | Iowa | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $17,146,679,000 |
| #3 | Illinois | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $13,589,230,000 |
| #4 | Texas | Cattle and calves | $13,013,127,000 |
| #5 | Minnesota | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $12,304,415,000 |
| #6 | Nebraska | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $10,698,861,000 |
| #7 | Kansas | Cattle and calves | $10,153,087,000 |
| #8 | North Dakota | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $8,813,348,000 |
| #9 | Indiana | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $7,217,854,000 |
| #10 | Ohio | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $5,834,600,000 |
| #11 | South Dakota | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $5,809,792,000 |
| #12 | Wisconsin | Milk from cows | $4,952,039,000 |
| #13 | North Carolina | Poultry and eggs | $4,837,026,000 |
| #14 | Georgia | Poultry and eggs | $4,773,837,000 |
| #15 | Colorado | Cattle and calves | $4,321,308,000 |
| #16 | Arkansas | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $4,214,355,000 |
| #17 | Missouri | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $3,922,873,000 |
| #18 | Alabama | Poultry and eggs | $3,624,852,000 |
| #19 | Michigan | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $3,613,250,000 |
| #20 | Oklahoma | Cattle and calves | $3,402,919,000 |
| #21 | Washington | Fruit, tree nuts, and berries | $2,931,370,000 |
| #22 | Mississippi | Poultry and eggs | $2,744,048,000 |
| #23 | New York | Milk from cows | $2,417,398,000 |
| #24 | Idaho | Milk from cows | $2,333,364,000 |
| #25 | Pennsylvania | Milk from cows | $1,966,892,000 |
| #26 | Florida | Fruit, tree nuts, and berries | $1,847,805,000 |
| #27 | Louisiana | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $1,832,208,000 |
| #28 | Montana | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $1,787,162,000 |
| #29 | Kentucky | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $1,656,983,000 |
| #30 | South Carolina | Poultry and eggs | $1,476,817,000 |
| #31 | Tennessee | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $1,301,303,000 |
| #32 | New Mexico | Milk from cows | $1,251,065,000 |
| #33 | Virginia | Poultry and eggs | $1,161,564,000 |
| #34 | Wyoming | Cattle and calves | $1,101,195,000 |
| #35 | Maryland | Poultry and eggs | $922,999,000 |
| #36 | Oregon | Cattle and calves | $894,485,000 |
| #37 | Delaware | Poultry and eggs | $811,301,000 |
| #38 | Arizona | Vegetables, melons, potatoes and sweet potatoes | $764,062,000 |
| #39 | Vermont | Milk from cows | $504,884,000 |
| #40 | New Jersey | Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture and sod | $405,247,000 |
| #41 | West Virginia | Poultry and eggs | $401,439,000 |
| #42 | Utah | Cattle and calves | $364,214,000 |
| #43 | Nevada | Other crops and hay | $280,554,000 |
| #44 | Connecticut | Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture and sod | $252,923,000 |
| #45 | Maine | Vegetables, melons, potatoes and sweet potatoes | $207,254,000 |
| #46 | Hawaii | Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas | $152,930,000 |
| #47 | Massachusetts | Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture and sod | $144,188,000 |
| #48 | New Hampshire | Milk from cows | $54,798,000 |
| #49 | Rhode Island | Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture and sod | $32,831,000 |
| #50 | Alaska | Aquaculture | $29,774,000 |
As the legal cannabis industry continues to take off, it’ll be interesting to see if the USDA incorporates that crop into its rankings in future years.
