Agricultural Production and Prices

U.S. crop production is geographically concentrated in a few high-value production areas, particularly California’s Central Valley and the Corn Belt. The five States with the highest value of crop sales in 2022 were California, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Nebraska. With its large horticultural sector, California's overall crop value of nearly $43 billion was driven by fruits, nuts, vegetables, and other high-value specialty crops. Much of the Midwest, especially Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Nebraska, derive most crop value from grains and oilseeds, particularly corn and soybeans. Likewise, row crop production is also favored along the Mississippi Delta. Other pockets of high-value specialty crop sales appear in Washington and Florida.

Livestock production and sales occur in all 50 States but with strong regional clusters, reflecting the adaptability of animal agriculture to varied climates, the proximity to feed sources, and the location of processing facilities. Texas, Iowa, California, Nebraska, and Kansas led the country in 2022 for sales of livestock and their products, with cattle production driving much of the value in the Southern Plains and the Midwest feedlot belt. Clusters in the Southeast are largely tied to poultry production. Dairy is the main contributor to sales in Wisconsin and California while hog and egg production played a major role in Iowa. The cattle sector is the dominant source of value in Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska.

Since 1995, combined acreage planted to corn, wheat, soybeans, and upland cotton in the United States has ranged from 220 million to 242 million acres. Starting in the 1990s, policy changes increased the planting flexibility provided to farmers. These changes have allowed farmers to respond to market signals in their cropping choices. Over the past 10 years (2016–25), the combined annual planting acreage for these crops has maintained a slightly higher average (235 million acres) than the prior decade (234 million acres). Since 1995, the three highest combined annual planting totals for these crops occurred in 2012, 2014, and 2018. Combined acreage in 2025 decreased from the prior year to 234 million acres with decreases in soybean, wheat, and cotton plantings more than offsetting increases in corn. Combined planted acreage for the four crops in 2025 marked their 13th largest total since 1995.

The number of milk cows in the United States generally fell in the 1980s and 1990s but has generally risen since the early 2000s, peaking at 9.49 million head in 2025. Milk output has risen 62 percent since 1985 and now exceeds 231 billion pounds per year. Genetic developments and technological improvements underline a pronounced upward trend in milk output per cow. Consolidation in the dairy sector also has facilitated efficiency gains in milk production.

U.S. cotton mill use peaked in the mid-1990s as the 10-year phase-out of textile and apparel import quotas that existed under the international Multifiber Arrangement began. Increased U.S. imports of those cotton products followed and contributed to reduced U.S. mill use but fostered U.S. exports of raw cotton. Exports now account for more than 85 percent of overall demand for U.S. cotton, compared with less than 40 percent in the 1990s, and mill use is at historically low levels. The United States is the second largest global cotton exporter behind Brazil. Vietnam, Pakistan, and China are the leading destinations for U.S. cotton exports.

Agricultural commodity prices have shown notable volatility over the past decade. After a relatively stable period from 2016 through 2019, aggregate crop prices surged in 2020, up 19 percent, and continued to rise another 14 percent in 2021, setting record highs. This upward trend continued into 2022 with an additional 8 percent rise. Livestock prices, in contrast, fell by 7 percent in 2020 but rebounded strongly in 2021 and 2022 as strong demand combined with supply chain challenges tightened availability. While both crop and livestock prices eased in 2023, they diverged in 2024, with livestock prices climbing by 12 percent while crop prices dropped by 7 percent. In 2025, prices for both crops and livestock remained elevated compared to pre-2020 levels, with aggregate livestock prices reaching an all-time high and crop prices stabilizing.

Cattle, hog, and broiler prices adjusted for inflation show notable trends over the past 35 years. Inflation-adjusted cattle and broiler prices were about 2 percent lower in 2024 than their prices in 1990. Both prices rose to 25-year highs in 2014 amid increasing production costs and drought in cattle-producing regions, before falling off again and then rebounding after 2020. Over the same period, inflation-adjusted hog prices declined by 56 percent and have since remained below their 1990 level. Cattle prices increased each year since 2020 while hog and broiler prices have fluctuated. Notably, broiler prices hit their inflation-adjusted high in 2022.