Corn and soybeans are Minnesota's top producers in terms of planted acres and market value of production. Nationwide, Minnesota ranks third in soybean production and fourth in corn production. Minnesota ranks first nationwide in the production of sugar beets, oats, sweet corn and green peas for processing. Minnesota is second to California in wild rice production; Minnesota produces both wild rice cultivated in rice paddies and traditional Native American wild rice harvested by hand. The state also ranked in the top 10 nationwide in 2008 in the production of spring wheat, barley, sunflowers, hay, potatoes, flaxseed, wheat, canola and dry beans.
Hogs are Minnesota's top livestock commodity in terms of agricultural production -- third in the nation in 2008 behind Iowa and North Carolina. Minnesota ranks first in the nation in turkey production. The state is also in the top 10 nationwide in the production of milk cows and mink pelts. With 12,000 head of bison, Minnesota is second in the nation for the number of bison producers. Other livestock raised in Minnesota include elk and ostriches.
Minnesota processed 308 million bushels of corn into ethanol in 2009 -- 29 percent of the state's total corn crop. The state has 21 ethanol plants that can produce 1.1 billion gallons of ethanol annually. Ten of the ethanol plants are farmer-owned co-ops that bring economic returns to farmers and farming communities. The state exported 619 million gallons of ethanol in 2009 -- 72 percent of the ethanol produced.
Minnesota ranked seventh in the nation in farm exports in 2008, and the state's largest export customers are Canada, Mexico and Japan. Soybeans and soybean products are the state's largest export, putting the state as the nation's third-largest exporter of soybeans. Feed grains and grain products are the state's second-largest export, followed by live animals and meat products. Soybean, corn and wheat exports, valued at $3.95 billion in 2008, account for 72 percent of Minnesota's total agricultural exports.
