Crop production in Uruguay has never been as valuable as farm animal raising. Only about 8% of the land area was dedicated to growing crops in the mid-1980s, compared with 75% dedicated to farm animal. The amount of land under cultivation has varied according to the world price of farm animal products. When beef prices have declined, for example, ranchers have planted wheat or corn. Rising farm animal prices in the 1980s resulted in a considerable decrease in the area dedicated to most crops. Because crop production had gradually become more efficient through mechanization, crop yields did not necessarily decline.

The dairy industry, based in the departments near Montevideo, expanded considerably in the 1980s. Milk production increased from 400,000 tons in 1979 to 635,000 tons in 1987. Even though many dairy farmers still relied on natural pastures, limiting the milk output per cow, Uruguay was more than self-sufficient in dairy products and exported to other Latin American countries. Most domestic milk processing and marketing was controlled by the National Dairy Products Cooperative, which distributed dairy products throughout the nation.