Top 10 Illinois Agricultural Commodities
![Illinois Top 10 [INFOGRAPHIC]](https://eadn-wc01-4177395.nxedge.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screen-Shot-2016-02-04-at-11.05.44-AM.jpg)
1. Corn for Grain – Corn processed for grain is Illinois’ top commodity with an $8.57 billion production value. In 2014, 11.75 million acres of this crop were harvested – enough to remove 94 million tons of carbon dioxide from the air during the growing season.
2. Soybeans – The second-largest crash crop in the U.S., soybeans brought a $5.64 billion production value to the Prairie State in 2014. Illinois producers harvested 9.77 million acres.
3. Hogs – Pork is one of the world’s most widely eaten meats. This popular commodity brought the state a $1.6 billion production value in 2014 with 4.7 million hogs.
4. Cattle and Calves – Hamburger from a single steer can produce about 720 quarter-pound hamburgers. In 2014, 1.14 million cattle and calves brought a $751.18 million production value to Illinois.
5. Milk – Illinois milk production earned $456.95 million in 2014. The state produced 1.85 billion pounds of this top commodity, or the equivalent of around 215.11 million gallons of milk.
6. Wheat – Illinois had a $219.96 million production value of this top crop in 2014, with producers harvesting 670,000 acres that yielded 44.89 million bushels. One bushel of wheat yields 42 one-and-a-half pound commercial loaves of white bread.
7. Eggs – Around 280 million laying birds in the U.S. produce 250 to 300 eggs each year. Illinois layers produced 1.5 billion eggs in 2014 for a $124.29 million production value.
8. Pumpkins – Pumpkins are a top crop for Illinois with a production value of $47.13 million in 2014. The state’s producers harvested 7.45 million hundredweight of pumpkins – enough to fill almost 1,865 full-size pickup trucks.
9. Potatoes – A medium-size potato provides almost half the daily nutritional value of vitamin C. Producers yielded 2.65 hundredweight of potatoes in 2014 for a $25.76 million production value.
10. Sweet Corn – Illinois sweet corn producers harvested 6,400 acres of sweet corn in 2014 for a production value of $17.07 million. U.S. corn growers produce 36.2 percent of the world’s corn.