Part 2: In a Nutshell
- North Dakota has three major natural regions—the Red River Valley, the Drift Prairie, and the Missouri Plateau.
- Some of the most fertile soil and best farmland in the world is found in the Red River Valley, which has been called the “Breadbasket of the World.”
- Production agriculture, or producing and selling agricultural goods, is the leading industry of North Dakota.
- About 90 percent of all the land in North Dakota is covered by farms and ranches.
- Wheat is one of the most important food crops in the world and is the leading crop of North Dakota.
- Hundreds of varieties of wheat have been developed by scientists at North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo.
- Almost all of the flax and canola grown in the United States comes from North Dakota.
- North Dakota has several ethanol plants that produce millions of gallons of ethanol for fuel each year.
- The Red River Valley is the largest producer of red potatoes in the United States.
- The four main uses of potatoes are French fries, seed potatoes, potato chips, and fresh potatoes for cooking.
- The most common types of livestock in North Dakota include beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine, sheep, horses, and poultry.
- The BueLingo breed of beef cattle was developed by a North Dakota farmer/rancher.
- Holstein is the most popular breed of dairy cattle.
- Horses are classified as light horses, ponies, and draft horses.
- Chickens and turkeys are the most common types of poultry raised in North Dakota.
- Sheep ranchers sometimes use llamas as guard animals to protect the sheep from predators.
