What is Agriculture?
Agriculture is farming! Farming is planting and harvesting crops, growing fruits and vegetables, as well as raising cattle, pigs, turkeys and chickens.
Agriculture is also much more than this. It is the industry that grows, harvests, and supplies us with food, fiber, trees, turf, and landscaping materials.
- Food comes from plants and animals.
- Fiber is the raw material from plants and animals that we use to make cloth, clothing, rope, and more. Cotton, linen, silk, wool, sisal, and hemp are fibers.
- Trees give us wood that becomes lumber, furniture, and firewood; pulp to make paper; and hundreds of other things, including turpentine (a useful oil) and medicines.
- Landscaping materials include flowers, plants, and turf (already planted grass) for beauty, pleasure, and fun activities.
Minnesota is the #1 producer in the country for:
- Turkey's raised
- Sugarbeets
- Oats
- Wild Rice
- Red Kidney Beans
Fun Facts
ONE bushel of whole wheat can make 64 loaves of bread.
The average potato is 75% to 80% water.
ONE bale of cotton makes 215 pairs of blue jeans.
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Minnesota is home to over 67,000 farms.
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More than 80% of jobs in MN agriculture are not farming.
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An acre is about the size of a football field.
Minnesota Grown
What makes Minnesota such a terrific state for agriculture? It has many soil types and terrain that are good for farming. It also has the right amount of rainfall during our growing season. All of these things make our state a top 5 producer in the country of the plants and animals listed below. Can you find them in the word search?