Wisconsin farmers planted 3.75 million acres of corn in 2024, more than any other crop in the state. The state also leads the nation in cranberries, processing snap beans and cultivated ginseng.

Agriculture as a whole contributed $116.3 billion to Wisconsin’s economy in 2022, according to a University of Wisconsin-Madison study announced by Gov. Tony Evers and the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). Dairy accounts for $52.8 billion of that.

The figures below come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). They include its 2024 Wisconsin crop production report and its 2024 crop values report.

Corn

Farmers planted 3.75 million acres of corn in 2024. They harvested 2.96 million acres for grain, averaging 174 bushels per acre, for a total of 515 million bushels.

At an average price of $4.40 a bushel, the grain crop was worth $2.27 billion. Farmers also chopped 730,000 acres for silage, producing 14.6 million tons, much of it fed to dairy cattle.

Soybeans

Soybeans covered 2.15 million acres, and farmers harvested 2.12 million of them. Yields averaged 48 bushels per acre, for a total of 101.8 million bushels.

The soybean crop was worth $1.02 billion at an average of $10 a bushel.

Hay

Wisconsin produced 3.9 million tons of hay on 1.29 million acres in 2024. Alfalfa made up most of it, with 3.03 million tons from 830,000 acres.

The hay crop was worth $580 million, at an average of $148 a ton.

Cranberries

Wisconsin is the nation’s top cranberry state. Growers harvested 5.49 million barrels from 19,600 acres in 2024, an average of 280 barrels per acre, according to NASS’s fruit summary. A barrel is 100 pounds.

That was 61% of the U.S. crop of 8.95 million barrels. The Wisconsin crop was worth $218.2 million. For more, see Five Fast Facts About Wisconsin Cranberries.

Potatoes

Potato growers planted 67,000 acres and harvested 66,000 in 2024. They averaged 395 hundredweight (cwt) per acre, for 26.1 million cwt. A hundredweight is 100 pounds.

The crop was worth $414.5 million. Idaho and Washington grow far more potatoes than any other state. Wisconsin and Oregon finished close together behind them in 2024.

Snap Beans

Wisconsin grows more snap beans for processing than any other state. In 2024 it produced 209,059 tons for canning and freezing, just over half of the U.S. total of 409,908 tons, according to NASS’s vegetables summary.

Farmers planted 48,600 acres of snap beans and harvested 47,600. The crop was worth $38 million.

Sweet Corn and Green Peas

Wisconsin farmers harvested 52,000 acres of sweet corn in 2024, worth $62.3 million. Unlike field corn, which is harvested dry for grain and feed, sweet corn is picked fresh for people to eat. Most of Wisconsin’s crop goes to processors.

Growers also harvested 20,200 acres of green peas, worth $12.3 million.

Oats and Wheat

Oats were planted on 140,000 acres, but farmers harvested only 64,000 acres for grain. The grain harvest came to 4.29 million bushels at 67 bushels per acre. At $3.30 a bushel, it was worth $14.2 million.

Wisconsin’s winter wheat crop totaled 18 million bushels, worth $85.7 million.

Ginseng

More than 90% of the cultivated ginseng grown in the United States comes from Wisconsin. Marathon County alone produces about 95% of the state’s crop, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. The plant needs 70% to 90% shade, natural or artificial, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

Exports

Wisconsin exported $3.97 billion in food, forestry and agricultural products in 2024, up 2.6% from 2023 and the second-highest total on record, according to DATCP. Canada, Mexico, China, South Korea and Japan bought 64% of those exports.

DATCP warned that retaliatory tariffs from Canada, Mexico, China and the European Union could affect 67% of the state’s agricultural exports.