Michigan’s Principal Agricultural Commodities

Apples – The third largest apple producing state in the U.S., Michigan produced over 1 billion pounds of apples in 2014 for a $220 million production value. Half of the state’s apples are sold ready to eat. Cattle – Hamburger from a single steer provides about 720 quarter-pound hamburgers. Michigan farmers brought over $630 million in production value to the state in 2014 with over 1 million head of cattle and calves.

Pork – Michigan is No. 11 in the nation for pork sales. With an inventory of nearly 1.2 million head of hogs, Michigan farmers earned a $393 million production value in 2014. Milk – A cup of milk provides nearly one-third of the daily recommended intake for calcium. It’s no surprise Michigan ranks eighth in the U.S. for cow milk sales with 9.6 billion pounds produced in 2014. Milk had a $2.32 billion production value the same year. Soybeans – Michigan is No. 12 in the nation for soybean acres. Farmers produced nearly 87 million bushels in 2014 for a $929 million production value. Sugar beets – Michigan has the fourth highest sugar beet production value in the U.S. at nearly $215 million. The root is mainly planted in the east central region, with Huron County leading the state in sugar beet production. Wheat – Wheat was first planted in the U.S. in 1777 as a hobby crop. Michigan wheat had a $204 million production value in 2014 from 34.8 million bushels.

Corn – U.S. corn growers produce over a third of the world’s corn supply. About 2.2 million acres of corn were harvested for grain in Michigan during 2014, which earned the state a production value of nearly $1.3 billion. Eggs – A large-sized egg supplies almost 13 percent of the recommended daily value of protein. Michigan egg production earned a $325.32 million production value in 2014 with more than 3.8 billion eggs. Greenhouse and nursery – Michigan ranks third in the nation for floriculture production output. The state’s floriculture crops had a wholesale value of $406 million in 2014. More than 1,050 acres were used to grow floriculture crops