Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship

QUICK FACTS about the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship.

• In 2005, Iowa led the nation in the production of pork, corn, soybeans and eggs.
• Iowa’s total cash receipts for farm commodities in 2004 totaled $15.9 billion – the third highest in the country.
• About 89 percent of the land area in the state is in farms.
• Iowa has nearly 450 certified organic operations, with approximately 100,000 acres of farmland under organic management. (Source: Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Ag Diversification Bureau.)
• Iowa is ranked second in the nation in red meat production.
• Iowa has about 5 1/2 hogs for every person in the state – 16.3 million hogs (2006). One in every 3.4 pounds of pork is shipped from an Iowa plant.
• There were 172 farmers’ markets in Iowa during the 2005 growing season, In 2004 our state ranked 3rd in the nation in number of markets, and 1st in number of markets per capita. (Source: Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Horticulture and Farmers’ Market Bureau)
• Iowa produces approximately 19 percent of the nation’s corn for grain and about 17 percent of the nation’s soybeans.
• A hen lays an average of 266 eggs per year. Total egg production for 2005 was 13 billion eggs – 12 percent above the previous year’s total.
• A cow produces an average of 20,722 pounds of milk per year. (That’s equivalent to about 2,410 gallons, or 38,560 glasses of milk per year per cow!) There was an average of 194,000 milk cows on hand during 2005.
• Iowa’s bee hives produced 2.45 million pounds of honey in 2005, with value of production totaling $2.42 million.
• Iowa is first in the nation in number of acres set aside as riparian buffers, grassed waterways, contour buffer strips, field borders and other buffers on private farmlands – reducing soil erosion, protecting water quality and stabilizing stream banks. As of March 31, 2006, Iowa had 514,680 acres enrolled in these conservation programs. (Source: Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Soil Conservation Division.)
• Iowa produces more ethanol per year than any other state – 1.2 billion gallons annually now, with seven more plants under construction that will produce another 480 million gallons per year. (Source: Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Office of Renewable Fuels.)
• Iowa’s total agricultural exports for 2004 were valued at more than $3.676 billion, ranking Iowa second in the nation in agricultural exports.

http://www.agriculture.state.ia.us/