Texas Agriculture
Livestock & Poultry
Crops & Commodities
Agricultural History
Farm Facts & Fast Stats
100

Texas’ #1 cash receipt commodity in 2024 was?

Cattle and calves

100

Texas has more cattle than how many U.S. states have people?

43 states

100

What is the average Texas corn grain yield per acre?

122 bushels/acre

100

What year was the USDA established?

1862

100

On average, one U.S. farm feeds how many people annually?

169

200

How many farms are in Texas as of 2024?

231,000

200

Texas’ broiler inventory is approximately how many?

708.6 million

200

What percentage of U.S. cotton comes from the Texas High Plains?

30%

200

Who invented the cotton gin in 1793?

Eli Whitney

200

What percentage of U.S. farms market food locally?

About 6%

300

Texas has how many acres of farmland?

125 million acres

300

Name one top U.S. export market for beef variety meats.

Mexico (Tripe), Egypt (Liver), Japan (Tongues), etc.

300

Texas watermelons contribute about how much annually to the state economy?

$90 million

300

The Agricultural Adjustment Act was passed in what year?

1933

300

Farmers and ranchers receive how many cents of every retail dollar spent on food?

15 cents

400

Texas is the nation’s #1 producer of which fiber crop?

Cotton

400

How many dairy cows are in Texas?

675,000

400

Texas is the 5th largest producer of this grain in the U.S., grown primarily along the Upper Texas Coast.

Rice

400

What year was the first Federal Meat Inspection Act?

1896

400

What percentage decline in cropland erosion has occurred since 1982?

34%

500

Texas produces how much milk annually in dollars?

$3.36 billion

500

Which act, passed in 1958, dictates humane slaughter standards?

The Humane Slaughter Act

500

U.S. currency is made up of 75% of this crop’s fiber and 25% linen.

Cotton

500

Who is known as the “Father of Modern Agriculture”?

Cyrus McCormick (mechanical reaper)

500

In 2023, how much were American agricultural exports worth?

$174.9 billion