Agriculture in Minnesota
ZIP codes in our Minnesota data
USDA hardiness zones present
Agriculture is one of Minnesota's foundational industries, with roughly half the state's land in farms and a diverse mix of row crops, livestock, and specialty production. Farming shapes the economy across the southern and western prairie regions, while the forested north supports smaller-scale operations. For growers and gardeners, the state offers rich prairie and glacial soils but a short, cold-winter growing season that demands careful timing and hardy varieties.
Farming in Minnesota
Corn and soybeans dominate Minnesota's cropland, especially across the fertile southern and western counties, and the state is also a national leader in sugar beet production concentrated in the Red River Valley. Minnesota grows large acreages of spring wheat, sweet corn and green peas for processing, dry edible beans, oats, and alfalfa and other hay. On the livestock side, the state is a top producer of turkeys and hogs, and it maintains a substantial dairy industry along with beef cattle and egg-laying flocks. The overall character is a productive blend of large commercial grain and livestock operations alongside dairy farms and processing-vegetable growers.
Climate and growing conditions
Minnesota has a humid continental climate with cold, snowy winters and warm, sometimes humid summers, giving it one of the widest temperature ranges of any state. The frost-free growing season is relatively short, running from roughly 100 days in the far north to about 150 to 160 days in the southeast. USDA hardiness zones range from about 3a along the Canadian border and far north down to 4b and 5a in the southern and southeastern parts of the state.
Major agricultural products
- Corn
- Soybeans
- Sugar beets
- Hogs
- Turkeys
- Dairy
- Spring wheat
- Sweet corn and green peas for processing
Hardiness zones in Minnesota
Growers in Minnesota fall across these USDA plant hardiness zones (by number of ZIP codes in our data):
Local weather & frost dates in Minnesota
Open any location for its live forecast, frost dates, and planting calendar:
Counties in Minnesota
Browse local growing conditions, hardiness zones, and weather by county (92 counties):
Market prices & data for Minnesota
State overviews combine hardiness-zone data from our ZIP database with public USDA market reports and NOAA climate normals. For farm-level decisions, consult your state's Cooperative Extension service. Page updated Aug 4, 2026.