Nebraska’s Principal Agricultural Commodities

Cattle and calves – A single steer can provide nearly 720 quarter-pound hamburgers. Nebraska is No. 1 for commercial red meat production, and earned a $7.4 billion production value from 6.3 million head of cattle and calves in 2014.

Corn – Nebraska ranks No. 3 for corn production and No. 1 for popcorn production in the U.S. Corn brought in a $6 billion production value with 1.6 billion bushels in 2014. That’s enough to make 60.8 billion boxes of corn flakes.

Eggs – A large-size egg supplies almost 13 percent of the daily recommendation for protein. Nebraska farms produced 2.86 billion eggs in 2014, resulting in a production value of $240.4 million.

Dry edible beans – Nebraska produces 77 percent of the nation’s supply of dry edible Great Northern beans, which are a low-calorie source of protein, iron, ber and other nutrients. Dry edible beans had a $120 million production value in 2014.

Hogs – With ham sandwiches as the most widely eaten lunch sandwich at home, it’s no wonder Nebraska’s 3.2 million hogs generated a $1 billion production value in 2014.

Milk – A cup of milk provides nearly one-third of the daily recommended intake for calcium. Nebraska dairy cows produced 1.2 billion pounds of milk in 2014, which earned the state a $298.75 million production value.

Soybeans – Soy protein may protect against bone loss, osteoporosis and risk
of bone fractures. Nebraska producers yielded 287.8 million bushels of this commodity in 2014 for a production value of $2.8 billion.

Sugar beets – In Nebraska, sugar beets are processed into granulated, powdered and brown sugar. Producers generated 1.33 million tons of sugar beets in 2015. The crop had a $49.63 million production value in 2013.

Wheat – Nebraska wheat farmers produced 71 million bushels of wheat in 2014, earning the state a $412.09 million production value. That’s enough to make 14.92 billion servings of spaghetti.

Hay – In 2014, Nebraska farmers yielded 6 million tons of hay. This top crop had a production value of $570 million.