Minnesota Soybean
Animal Agriculture
Hogs, cattle, and poultry industry in the basin
R
apid changes have taken place in animal agriculture in recent decades. Since the 1980’s there has been increased concentration in production of dairy, swine, and poultry industry across the state and within the Minnesota River Basin. Livestock raising is a significant business in the Minnesota River Basin. There are approximately 10,000 feedlots in the basin. Registered feedlots contained about 2 million animal units in 2006 (MPCA, 2007). Roughly 5 percent of feedlots are larger than 1,000 animal units. Minnesota Soybean
Hogs
Minnesota is ranked third in the nation for production of hogs and pigs (approximately 7,500,000 produced in 2007). In Minnesota, the swine industry has traditionally relied on family farm production as part of a diversified farming strategy, but between 1982 and 2007, the number of farms raising hogs decreased dramatically while the number of hogs raised on Minnesota rose dramatically. In 1982, the average hog farm had 216 hogs while by 2007 the average rose to 1,757 hogs per farm.
Farms in Hogs & Pigs 2007
Poultry
Minnesota Soybean
Minnesota Soybean
Minnesota is ranked first in the nation for turkey production (approximately 18,000,000 turkeys produced in 2007). The expansion of the poultry sector began in the 1950s in Minnesota and has continued into the present. From 1982 to 2007 the number of farms selling broilers and turkeys both decreased. The number of broilers sold increased significantly in 2007 while the number of turkeys sold maintained a more steady increase.
http://mrbdc.mnsu.edu/mnbasin/trends
Minnesota River Trends
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