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Grain Fields
Kansas
Wheat Facts:
Wheat was first planted in the United States in 1777 as a hobby crop.
Kansas produces enough wheat each year to bake 36 billion loaves of bread.
Kansas grows enough wheat to feed the world's population for about 2 weeks.
An acre of Kansas wheat produces enough bread to feed nearly 9,000 people for one day.
Grain has been grown in Kansas for many generations. As grain production became more prevalent in the area, its value as a commodity increased. Grain elevators were created to accommodate this uptick in production. In rural Kansas, some of the first grain elevators were commissioned to be built by the railroad companies. Towns were spaced every 6 to 10 miles in regions that produced grain.
This allowed railroad companies to refuel their trains and provided them easy access to grain production via local farmers.
These grain elevator locations also gave local farmers the ability to unload their crops in a single day. Today, grain fields and elevators can been seen all across America's farmland. |