Minnesota

Aside from having some of the best walleye fishing in the nation, Minnesota was also ranked as the 12 largest beef producer in the country in 2022. With 67,400 farms operating on over 25 million acres, the state offers much more than just lakes and fishing. There are over 1 million acres of permanent pasture and rangeland dedicated to accommodate the more than 2.2 million head of cattle. The state is also a major producer of hogs, chickens and turkeys, with nearly 9 million hogs, 57 million chickens, and 40.5 million turkeys reported in 2021.

The state has allocated over 16 million acres to corn and soy mono-crops but also utilizes 4.8 million acres to produce a substantial amount of hay, haylage, and alfalfa, a critical food source for ruminant livestock living in colder, northern climates. Minnesota also produces a significant amount of various vegetables and flowering foliage as well.

In 2022, Minnesota was recognized for having 78 century farms, meaning the same families have owned the farms for over 100 years. While this is a great achievement, a closer look reveals that smaller family owned farms in this state are struggling. Roughly a third of Minnesota farms are less than 50 acres and selling less than $2,500 worth of products per year. Additionally, over half of all farms in the state earn less than $25,000 in annual sales and fewer than 1 in 3 farms earn more than $100,000 per year. These numbers tell a bleak story, that very few farm operators make the most money whilst the majority of the farms in the state generate a very modest revenue.

Supporting smaller family-owned farms is the only way to keep these farms in business and keep the land from falling into the hands of these elite corporations. As more farms shutter, the greater the monopoly and influence these giant agricultural industries have over the market. If these trends continue, they will eventually drive all the smaller family-owned farms out of business, forfeiting the land and people's nutritional independence forever, causing a landslide of decline for the local economies.