amarillo chamber of commerce - HPN Books

The annual Amarillo Farm and RanchShow held at the Amarillo Civic Center,hosts 20,000 to 30,000 visitors fromthe agricultural community each year.Agribusiness accounts for a substantialamount of commerce in the Tri-State Area.Agribusiness has changed a great deal inrecent years. Traditionally, agribusiness in theTexas Panhandle has consisted of raising cattleon ranches, operating feedlots, and farming.The Panhandle is considered to be thecattle feeding capital of the world. The area isone of the most productive and importantagricultural areas in the world. Tons ofwheat, sorghum, cotton, and corn areshipped from Amarillo each year. OnlyKansas surpasses the Texas High Plains incattle feeding operations, and the swineindustry is growing rapidly in the area. Today,agribusiness has expanded to encompass processingand manufacturing the productsraised and grown in the area. There are fourmajor packing facilities in the region.Recently, dairy farms have been established inthe Texas Panhandle and neighboring states,causing support and outgrowth industries tospring up in the Amarillo area, most notably,Hillmar Cheese in Dalhart, Texas. Area farmersand other businesses are now able tosupply feed and supplies to dairies andrelated businesses which has resulted inlarger markets for their products. Expandedagribusiness production has increaseddemand for the services of trucking companiesto transport agricultural products andby-products out of the Texas Panhandle.AMARILLO - Faces, Places & Open Spaces84