Feed Crop Takeaways
Takeaways are key points detailed and referenced in the Feed Crop Figures & Conversion section
Feed Crop Figures
The amount of crop production and land usage devoted to feeding farmed animals is much larger than commonly understood.
The top 3 U.S. crops – corn, soybeans, and hay – are primarily feed crops.
Together, these 3 crops make up almost three-quarters of all harvested cropland. About two-thirds of that crop production goes to farmed animals.
The U.S. uses the majority (at least 55%) of its exceptionally fertile cropland to feed farmed animals, domestically and via exports.
The top 10 crops account for more than 90% of the harvested cropland in the U.S. About 58% of those 10 crops were used for animal feed in 2023.
Many of these feed usage figures are underestimated; there are additional uses unaccounted for, such as unharvested crops used for hay or silage, corn and soy oil added to animal feed, untallied uses for minor crops, and a variety of other feed uses for which firm data is unavailable.
Feed crops use extensive amounts of scarce resources, including water, fertile land, and fertilizers; production practices for these monoculture crops are central drivers of pollution and biodiversity loss.
Corn, Soybeans, and Hay
About 64% of corn – the #1 U.S. crop by acreage and production volume – went to animal feed in 2023.
About 58% of soybeans – the #2 U.S. crop – went to animal feed in 2023; this is based on the relative value of coproducts. Evaluating by weight, ~75% went to animal feed.
About 95% of hay – the #3 U.S. crop – went to animal feed in 2023.
Acreage devoted to corn, soybeans, and hay is ~50 times the acreage devoted to vegetables.
Factory farming requires the delivery of astonishing amounts of corn and soybeans. In 2023, approximately 740 pounds of soybeans and 2,560 pounds of corn were produced for every American, mostly for animal feed.