Stretching from Wyoming to Iowa and larger in area than New York State, Nebraska’s 3rd congressional district is again the No. 1 farm district in the nation, with $16.6 billion in crop and livestock production, says the new edition of the Census of Agriculture. The corn, soybean, and cattle district first deposed the wheat- and cattle-producing “Big First” district of Kansas in the 2012 census, when the commodity boom boosted the value of row crops.
Iowa’s 4th congressional district, which shares the Missouri River as a boundary with Nebraska 3, ranks second in the nation, same as in 2012, with $16 billion in production. Kansas 1 was third on the list, with $14.3 billion, followed by California 21, in the San Joaquin Valley, with $9.8 billion. Next was South Dakota, which has only one congressional district, with $9.7 billion.
Along with leading the nation in value of production, Nebraska 3 has the largest number of farms — 33,294 — of any congressional district and covers 93 percent of the state’s land mass. It includes all or part of 75 counties, more than any other district in the country, according to the Almanac of American Politics. Cattle accounted for $8.4 billion of the agricultural output in the district and field crops $6.5 billion. Nebraska is the second-largest cattle state and is regularly in the top five of corn and soybean states.
The Union Pacific railroad has a mammoth rail yard, covering more than four square miles, in North Platte, Nebraska, and outdoor retailer Cabela’s is based in Sidney.
Iowa 4 covers northwest and north-central Iowa, an area of intensive corn, soybean, and hog production with massive meatpacking plants dotted among its small towns. The sprawling Big First district of Kansas is a huge producer of wheat, but cattle are its agricultural mainstay, accounting for $9 billion of the district’s output. Dodge City, Garden City, and Liberal, in southwestern Kansas, are sometimes called the golden triangle of meatpacking.
The Census of Agriculture ranking of congressional districts is available here.