Happy Birthday Wyoming!

Happy 122 birthday to my wonderful homestate of Wyoming today!

We were the first state to allow women to vote and elected the first woman governor, the homeplace of JCPenney, where the first national park was created (Yellowstone), and where the nation's oldest national moment resides (Devil's Tower).

Today we have the world's largest coal mine in the U.S.  (Black Thunder Mine near Wright), are a leading producer of sheep and wool in the country, and host the "Daddy of 'em All" Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo each July in Cheyenne. Agriculture, energy and tourism top our revenue list each year, and we are a conservative, republican based state.

Our just over 560,000 residents are significantly outnumbered by cattle (we like it that way), and there are still a lot of wide open spaces across this great state. I've been fortunate enough to travel much of it via main highways, backgrounds, and trails - in cars, on horses and even occasional in a plane. Grab your atlas and take a look around my beautiful state with me!

 (Black Hills, northeast Wyoming)

 (northern Niobrara County, eastern Wyoming)

 (Bighorn Mountains, near Buffalo)

 (Goshen County, southeast Wyoming)

 (Powder River, near Kaycee)

 (Outside Lander)

 (Southwest Wyoming)

 (Johnson County, near Sussex)

 (On top of the Bighorn Mountains)

 (Pathfinder Reservoir running over in 2010, near Alcova, central Wyoming)

 (Between Gillette and Buffalo)

 (near Dubois)

 (northern Fremont County)

 (near TenSleep)

 (Rocky Point, northern Wyoming)

 (Yellowstone Park)

(Yellowstone Park)

(near Wheatland)

 (Laramie, 10 months out of the year)

Do you know, about Wyoming agriculture?

Welcome to the Cowboy State, where I was born and raised. As our current governor likes to say, tourism and the energy industry may compete with agriculture for the top three industries in our state, but, without agriculture playing a supporting role, the other two wouldn't even be in the running. 
The cattle industry is the largest component of Wyoming agriculture in terms of value, bringing in $599 million dollars in 2008. 
3,124,299 pounds of wool were produced in 2007, and Wyoming was ranked 4th in the country for number of sheep and lambs with an inventory of 411,952 head.
On the crop side, Wyoming ranks 8th in the nation in barley production, 20th in hay production and 23rd in wheat production. 
Want to learn about Wyoming, or agriculture in your home state? Swing over to the Ag in the Classroom website and click on any state in the country for some great ag facts relevant to your area.

National Ag Day

Today is National Ag Day. If you aren't involved in agriculture, take a moment to celebrate and thank the farmers and ranchers that provide you with the food you eat, clothes you wear, and countless other necessary items in your daily life. While this is just one day a year, those of us who make a living in agriculture are fortunate enough to celebrate agriculture every day, while we make these products for our country and world.

If you want to know more about National Ag Day, you can go here.
If you want to know more Wyoming agriculture, and what we do, go here.