Ohio’s
30,000 soybean producers harvested 4.3 million acres in 2003, ranking
sixth in the nation in soybean production. Every other row of Ohio
soybeans is exported (American Soybean Association 2002).
The Ohio pork
industry ranked ninth in hogs and pig production in 2003. For every
hog raised in Ohio, $70 was invested back into the community in the
form of utilities, feed, loans, and jobs (National Pork Producers
Council 2002).
Sheep are raised
throughout the state on approximately 3,300 farms (2003). Ohio producers
sell wool to domestic mills in the United States, as well as Canada
and Germany. Ohio is the largest sheep producing state east of the
Mississippi River, and has the third largest number of sheep farms
in the country.
Ohio ranked
second in the U.S. in egg production, producing 7.6 billion in 2003.
More than 43 million pounds of Ohio chicken was sold in 2003.
Ohio ranked sixth in
the nation in corn for grain production in 2003. Every 10th row of
corn grown is sent overseas (Ohio Corn Growers Association 2000).
One out of every two rows is exported to a different state within
the United States (Ohio Corn Growers Association 2000).
Ohio ranked
fifth in the nation for milk cow operations in 2003. In 2003, the
average cow produced 17,269 pounds of milk. Ohio cheesemakers produced
over 94 million pounds of Swiss cheese supplying over 38 percent of
the total U.S. production.
Nationally,
Ohio ranked seventh in grape production in 2003. Two thousand acres
of grapes were harvested in Ohio in 2003, with an economic value estimated
at $2.79 million.
Ohio apple
production ranked 9th in the country in 2003.
