Farmers care for their animals, protect water quality, minimize odors and are good environmental stewards of the land.

Dairy Each dairy cow contributes $15,524 in direct economic impact. There are approximately 463,000 dairy cows in Minnesota. Average milk production per cow is 18,817 pounds, all together producing over 18.65 million pounds of milk per year.

Pork Minnesota is ranked second in hog production in the U.S. Minnesota’s pork producers marketed 15 million hogs in 2008.

Poultry Minnesota currently is ranked #1 for turkey production in the U.S. Minnesota’s turkey farmers raised 49 million birds in 2008, generating more than $600 million in income for producers, processors and other related industries.

Beef Minnesota is home to over 15,000 beef farms of which there are over 400,000 head of beef cows and 305,000 cattle on feed.

Lamb & Wool Minnesota ranks 11th among all states in total numbers of sheep, with approximately 145,000 head valued at over $21 million. Minnesota has approximately 2,600 sheep producers (ranking 6th among states in number of producers). Minnesota sheep producers annually generate over $13 million in gross sales and another $300k in wool sales.