Celebrate Kansas Beef Day-January 27th
by Neil Cates, Livestock Production Agent
The Kansas Department of Agriculture has designated January 27th as Kansas Beef Day. I thought this would be a perfect time to highlight some facts about the beef industry in Kansas and its economic importance to our state.
Kansas ranked third nationally with 5.85 million cattle on ranches and in feed yards as of January 1, 2013. That is over twice the state’s human population of 2.886 million. In 2010, cattle represented 47% of the Kansas agricultural cash receipts. Cattle generated $7.64 billion in cash receipts during 2011.
Farmers and ranchers are not the only people involved in the beef industry in Kansas. Kansas companies that produce, process, distribute and sell meat and poultry products employ as many as 19,242 people and generate an additional 51,210 jobs in supplier and ancillary industries. These include jobs in companies supplying goods and services to manufacturers, distributors and retailers, as well as those depending on sales to workers in the meat industry.
The Post Rock District was home to 172,000 head of cattle in 2012.
Counties:
- Jewell-35,000
- Lincoln-42,500
- Mitchell-39,500
- Osborne-22,500
- Smith-32,500
The numbers speak for themselves. The impact the beef industry has in Kansas is tremendous. Celebrate Kansas Beef Day by eating your favorite cut of beef tonight! I personally am a ribeye guy. The weather isn’t exactly ideal for grilling, but I plan on grilling a steak tonight in celebration. What’s your favorite cut of beef?
Source for Statistics: Kansas Ag Statistics & American Meat Institute
