Kansas Beef Industry Economics

• Kansas ranked third nationally with 5.95 million cattle on ranches and in feedyards as of January 1, 2025. That's a little over twice the state's human population of more than 2.9 million. (Kansas Ag Statistics) 

• Cattle and calves represented 58% of the 2023 Kansas agricultural cash receipts. (Kansas Ag Statistics)  

• Cattle generated $13.7 billion in cash receipts during 2023. (Kansas Ag Statistics)     

• Kansas ranks second nationwide in commercial cattle processed with 8.2 million head in 2023. (Kansas Ag Statistics)  

• Kansas ranked second in fed cattle marketed with 5.4 million in 2023. That represents 22% of all cattle fed in the United States. (Kansas Ag Statistics)  

• Kansas ranked third nationally in cattle on feed with 2.5 million head as of January 1, 2025. (Kansas Ag Statistics) 

• Kansas ranks first in the value of beef and beef products exported at $1.67 billion in 2023. (Kansas Ag Statistics)     

• Kansas ranked third in total red meat production in 2023. Beef represented nearly 5.8 billion pounds of the total. (Kansas Ag Statistics)      

• Kansas ranks third in hides and skins exported from the U.S., totaling $75.78 million in 2023. (Kansas Ag Statistics)    

• Kansas ranked sixth nationally in beef cow numbers as of January 1, 2025, with 1.23 million head. (Kansas Ag Statistics)   

• Beef cattle farming and ranching has a direct output of about $11.7 billion and employs nearly 38,601 Kansans. In addition, animal processing, except poultry, has a direct output of $9.01 billion and supports a total of 11,759 jobs. (Kansas Department of Agriculture)    

• In 2022, Kansas had 22,467 farms with cattle and calves. (Kansas Ag Statistics)    

• Kansas has 44.8 million acres of farm ground; however, not all of this land can be used to grow crops. Cattle are the ideal mechanism for efficiently utilizing grasses and plants growing on the 15.5 million acres of Kansas pastureland. These acres are not suited for the production of cultivated crops and would be wasted if it were not for ruminants, such as cattle, turning these resources into essential protein and nutrients for human use. (Kansas Ag Statistics)