Top Crops in Every State

The types of agricultural work available in the United States vary by state, as the crops and animals that do well in Montana are going to be very different from the crops and animals that do well in Alabama or Maine. If you’re looking for a job in this industry, you can either move to a state that produces the kind of commodity/export that most interests you, or you can choose your favorite location and choose from among the types of farms found in that area.

Regardless of what is most important to you (type of farm or location), here is a list of the top types of farms for each state, as of 2014:

Alabama: poultry, cattle, eggs
Alaska: greenhouse plants, hay, potatoes
Arizona: dairy, cattle, greenhouse plants
Arkansas: poultry, rice, soybeans
California: dairy, greenhouse plants, grapes
Colorado: cattle, dairy, corn
Connecticut: greenhouse plants, dairy, eggs
Delaware: poultry, corn, soybeans
Florida: greenhouse plants, oranges, tomatoes
Georgia: poultry, eggs, cotton
Hawaii: greenhouse plants, sugarcane, macadamia nuts
Idaho: dairy, cattle, potatoes
Illinois: corn, soybeans, hogs
Indiana: corn, soybeans, hogs
Iowa: corn, soybeans, hogs
Kansas: cattle, wheat, corn
Kentucky: horses, poultry, corn
Louisiana: rice, corn, sugarcane
Maine: potatoes, dairy, eggs
Maryland: poultry, greenhouse plants, corn
Massachusetts: greenhouse plants, cranberries, diary
Michigan: dairy, corn, soybeans
Minnesota: corn, soybeans, hogs
Mississippi: poultry, soybeans, corn
Missouri: soybeans, corn, cattle
Montana: wheat, cattle, barley
Nebraska: cattle, corn, soybeans
Nevada: cattle, hay, dairy
New Hampshire: greenhouse plants, dairy, apples
New Jersey: greenhouse plants, horses/mules, blueberries
New Mexico: dairy, cattle, hay
New York: dairy, greenhouse plants, corn
North Carolina: poultry, hogs, greenhouse plants
North Dakota: wheat, soybeans, corn
Ohio: corn, soybeans, dairy
Oklahoma: cattle, wheat, hogs
Oregon: greenhouse plants, cattle, dairy
Pennsylvania: dairy, cattle, eggs
Rhode Island: greenhouse plants, dairy, corn
South Carolina: poultry, greenhouse plants, turkeys
South Dakota: corn, cattle, soybeans
Tennessee: cattle, poultry, soybeans
Texas: cattle, cotton, dairy
Utah: dairy, cattle, hay
Vermont: dairy, cattle, greenhouse plants
Virginia: poultry, cattle, dairy
Washington: apples, dairy, wheat
West Virginia: poultry, cattle, turkeys
Wisconsin: dairy, corn, cattle
Wyoming: cattle, hay, hogs

Please note that on this list, “poultry” refers to chickens raised for meat, not eggs and may or may not include other types of birds. It is also important to remember that the commodities are listed by the percentage of value in the state’s agricultural business. It doesn’t necessarily mean that there are more open jobs on apple farms than other types of farms in Washington.

Source:

United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service