Known as the Wheat State and the breadbasket of the nation, Kansas typically produces more wheat than any other state. It ranked 5th in total farm income in 2001, with cash receipts of $8.1 billion.
Because of fluctuating prices, Kansas farmers have always risked economic disaster. During the 1920s, depressed farm prices forced many new farmers out of business. By World War II, Kansas farmers were prospering again, as record prices coincided with record yields. Since then, improved technology has favored corporate farms at the expense of small landholders. Between 1940 and 2002, the number of farms declined from 159,000 to 63,000, while the average size of farms more than doubled (to 730 acres/296 hectares). Income from crops in 2001 totaled $2.6 billion.
Other leading crops are alfalfa, hay, oats, barley, popcorn, rye, dry edible beans, corn and sorghums for silage, wild hay, red clover, and sugar beets.