Farming is a way of life for people in all 50 states. Some states produce billions of dollars worth of agricultural products on their farms while others produce considerably less. Do you think it’s simply a matter of larger states potentially having more land available for farms? Check to see if there’s a correlation between a state’s size and the value of its farm production.
Choose Your Data:
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| State | Size (in thousand square miles) | Crop Production (in millions of dollars) |
|---|
| Alabama | 51 | 1,202 |
| Alaska | 572 | 25 |
| Arizona | 114 | 2,541 |
| Arkansas | 52 | 3,834 |
| California | 156 | 31,407 |
| Colorado | 104 | 2,828 |
| Connecticut | 5 | 366 |
| Delaware | 2 | 325 |
| Florida | 54 | 6,763 |
| Georgia | 58 | 3,568 |
| Hawaii | 6 | 631 |
| Idaho | 83 | 3,420 |
| Illinois | 56 | 16,943 |
| Indiana | 36 | 8,274 |
| Iowa | 56 | 18,107 |
| Kansas | 82 | 6,319 |
| Kentucky | 40 | 2,334 |
| Louisiana | 44 | 2,367 |
| Maine | 31 | 368 |
| Maryland | 10 | 983 |
| Massachusetts | 8 | 391 |
| Michigan | 57 | 5,028 |
| Minnesota | 80 | 10,854 |
| Mississippi | 47 | 2,462 |
| Missouri | 69 | 5,278 |
| Montana | 146 | 1,949 |
| Nebraska | 77 | 11,945 |
| Nevada | 110 | 276 |
| New Hampshire | 9 | 96 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 1,008 |
| New Mexico | 121 | 777 |
| New York | 47 | 1,997 |
| North Carolina | 49 | 3,638 |
| North Dakota | 69 | 5,147 |
| Ohio | 41 | 6,457 |
| Oklahoma | 69 | 880 |
| Oregon | 96 | 3,341 |
| Pennsylvania | 45 | 2,289 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 52 |
| South Carolina | 30 | 1,183 |
| South Dakota | 76 | 6,239 |
| Tennessee | 41 | 2,150 |
| Texas | 262 | 5,556 |
| Utah | 82 | 525 |
| Vermont | 9 | 120 |
| Virginia | 40 | 1,355 |
| Washington | 67 | 6,409 |
| West Virginia | 24 | 121 |
| Wisconsin | 54 | 4,335 |
| Wyoming | 93 | 357 |
The scatterplot does not appear to show a correlation between a state’s size (measured in square miles) and the value of the crops it produces. Why do you think this is so?
The data sets used in these examples were obtained from public domain and third-party sources, and are intended for educational purposes only. All facts and figures may become inaccurate, out-of-date, or subject to revision without notice.
Photo: red tomatoes, © Fotokostic/Shutterstock.