Agriculture is Arkansas' largest industry, with more than $8 billion in farm income generated annually. Add to this the value of agricultural and food processing and related service industries, and the agricultural community accounts for almost 25% of the state's economy. Roughly one-half of the state's land is devoted to agriculture. Arkansas' 13.8 million acres of farmland is divided among 49,349 farms. Average size farm is 281 acres. Crop farms average 64 6acres each, while livestock operations average 176 acres in size. Arkansas' climate and topography make it well suited for the production of a broad spectrum of commodities. Crop production is concentrated in the eastern one-third of the state and in the Arkansas and Red River valleys. Livestock operations are spread throughout the remainder of the state with heaviest concentration in the northwestern half.
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