Agriculture

The Most Valuable Agricultural Commodity in Each State

Published

4 years ago

April 11, 2019

Jeff Desjardins

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.

Related Topics:agriculture farms commodity united states food

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Agriculture

The Fertilizer Market: 4 Things Investors Need to Know in 2023

What factors are impacting the fertilizer market in 2023? Here are four trends driving global fertilizer demand.

Written By

Tessa Di Grandi

Published April 13, 2023 • Updated May 2, 2023 •

Fertilizer market and what investors need to know in 2023

4 Things Investors Need to Know About the Fertilizer Market in 2023

Food security is of crucial importance many reasons—from ensuring both political and social stability, to supporting the health of the global economy.

You may be surprised to learn that fertilizer plays a crucial role in food security by enhancing the quantity and quality of harvests. In short, fertilizers can make food more affordable and accessible.

The above infographic sponsored by Brazil Potash digs into four major trends currently impacting the demand of fertilizer. Let’s break them down here.

1. Feeding 10 Billion People by 2050

The world’s population is increasing rapidly and is expected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050. This growth is particularly strong in developing countries where food security is already strained.

As the population grows, more crops are needed to support global food systems. Increasing crop production is essential and the fertilizer market is a critical ingredient in improving crop yields.

2. Less Farmland

After around 10,000 to 12,000 years of reshaping land for agriculture, the amount of arable land on earth is declining.

Based on the agricultural expansion predicted to take place between 2010 and 2050, an estimated 593 million hectares of agricultural land—nearly twice the size of India—will be needed.

With little room left to grow, fertilizers will take on an increasingly critical role in boosting crop production.

3. The World Needs More Fertilizer

The global fertilizer market was valued at $163.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $203.5 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 3.9% during period of 2022-2027.

As population growth continues to drive demand for increased crop production, investment in fertilizer production is essential to meet this growing demand.

4. The Global Fertilizer Supply Chain

Supply chain disruptions in the fertilizer market puts global food security at risk.

Farmers’ ability to access a consistent and affordable fertilizer supply directly affects crop yields, production, and food prices.

Increasing the supply of domestically produced fertilizer in countries heavily reliant on imports will support low-cost, sustainable, in-market fertilizer for farmers who need it.

Let’s break down the top five fertilizer-exporting countries based on value, according to Statista.

Country	Value of Fertilizer Exports, 2021
🇷🇺 Russia	$12.49B
🇨🇳 China	$11.47B
🇨🇦 Canada	$6.61B
🇲🇦 Morocco	$5.71B
🇺🇸 United States	$4.05B

On the other hand, here are the top five fertilizer-importing countries, based on value from the same source.

Country	Value of Fertilizer Imports, 2021
🇧🇷 Brazil	$15.16B
🇺🇸 United States	$10.29B
🇮🇳 India	$9.12B
🇫🇷 France	$2.8B
🇨🇳 China	$2.77B

Russia currently dominates the fertilizer market as the largest exporter based on dollar value at approximately $12.49 billion dollars, while Brazil is the largest importer of fertilizer based on an import value of approximately $15.2 billion dollars.

Investing in Brazil

Large agricultural producers that rely heavily on fertilizer imports, such as Brazil, would benefit from a local supply that farmers can easily and affordably access to improve crop production.

Fertilizer company Brazil Potash is engaged in the extraction and processing of local potash ore to increase yields and strengthen crop growth in Brazil.

Interested in learning more? Click here to learn about how you can invest in the fertilizer market with Brazil Potash.

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