Frequently Asked Questions
What crops define Kansas agriculture and where are they grown?
According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, winter wheat is the absolute king in Kansas, and the state always grows more of it than anyone else in America, mostly out in the central and western counties. Farmers grow a ton of corn and grain sorghum across the middle and eastern parts of the state. Soybeans have become huge in the southeast because newer seed varieties grow better there. You will see fields of sunflowers up in the north-central counties and alfalfa hay out west where they irrigate. Kansas is also always a top-five state for beef cattle, with massive grass ranches and huge feedlots packed together out west near the grain farms.
How does the Kansas winter wheat market work for farmland owners?
Farmers in Kansas plant winter wheat in September and October, let it sleep under the snow all winter, and cut it in June. According to agricultural market reports, they sell the grain to local elevators and massive export hubs along the Arkansas River and in Kansas City. Because Kansas is the biggest wheat state, what happens here directly changes global wheat prices. Landowners in the central and western counties usually charge farmers $40 to $100 per acre every year to rent wheat land, which is much lower than the rent for corn or soybeans because wheat just does not bring in as much money per acre. Many farmers in the middle of the state will swap between planting wheat and corn every other year to keep the land healthy.
Is Kansas farmland a good investment for buyers from other states?
Yes, Kansas farm land is a fantastic deal compared to Iowa or Illinois, as long as you understand the land will not grow quite as much food and the rent checks will be slightly lower. Good crop land in eastern Kansas gives you a steady rent check, but the land costs 30 to 50 percent less than similar land in Iowa. If you go west, the dryland wheat and cattle land is even cheaper. When you add together the rent checks, the money you can make leasing the land to hunters, and the cheap property taxes, Kansas is a great place to park your money long-term. Just like the rest of the Midwest, Kansas land has steadily climbed in value over the last twenty years.
