Wheat State

 

 

June 30, 2021

By Seth McFarland

 

Abraham Lincoln asked Congress to establish the Department of Agriculture in 1862. In 1872, the Kansas State Board of Agriculture was developed. That same year the first house and post office were established in Larned as the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad arrived in the area. The town would be laid out the following year. Pawnee County would be officially recognized later in 1872. 

 

Kansas has been known as the "Wheat State" as it has been the nation's leader of wheat production since before statehood. Wheat has been grown in Kansas since as early as 1839. Annual records of production have been kept since 1866. Wheat remains one of the top crops for Kansas farmers today.