Midwest

Abstract

The Midwest Region encompasses the States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin and includes about 20 percent of the U.S. population (61 million), which primarily lives within its cities. Agriculture is the dominant land use in the Midwest, with more than two-thirds of the land designated as farmland, and plays a major role in the regional and national economy (fig. A.11). Midwestern States traditionally are considered to be the Corn Belt, because corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) constitute 85 percent of the crop receipts. Agricultural exports from the Midwest accounted for more than $86 billion in 2009, which amounted to nearly 87 percent of the national agricultural export. A diversity of production systems, however, ranges from corn, oats, soybean, and wheat to fruits, nuts, vegetables, and livestock. The Midwest is also home to some of the most valuable timber species in the United States that include the central hardwood, northern hardwood, and Lake States coniferous regions.