For all the talk about Illinois being a center of manufacturing and industry, agriculture is a major player.

No other state produces as much in soybeans as Illinois. According to the state soybean association, Illinois produced 532 million bushels of the crop in 2019. Iowa was second, at 503 million bushels.

Illinois also is the country's second-leading producer of corn, according to World Population Review. In 2018, Illinois farmers grew 2.3 billion bushels of corn. Only Iowa (2.5 billion bushels) produced more.

A crop in which Illinois is the far-and-away leader nationally is one that doesn't seem to get much notice, except around Halloween and the ensuing holidays.

Between 90 and 95% of the processed pumpkins in the U.S. are grown in Illinois, according to the University of Illinois Extension. The Tazewell County village of Morton claims to be the pumpkin capital of the world.

A Nestle USA plant in Morton produces Libby's canned pumpkin. That accounts for about 80% of such pumpkin sold worldwide, according to the company.

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What is Illinois known for? Here are 9 things good, bad and in-between - Journal Gazette and Times-Courier