Agribusiness is the leading force in the Seward County economy which includes beef, dairy, hogs, wheat, corn, cotton, milo among other products.  Approximately 500 wells makes this otherwise semi-arid county extremely fertile which has allowed the dairy industry to grow as well.

Liberal is the ideal home for the largest ethanol producer in Kansas because of its proximity to raw materials and market, and a high quality workforce.  Conestoga Energy's Arkalon Ethanol Plant produces 110 million gallons of ethanol each year.  The plant also has local markets for distillers grain, a product captured during the production of ethanol and also produces hand sanitizers.

Liberal's largest employer is National Beef Packing Company with 3,500 employees.  The plant processes more than 1.4 million cattle per year.  Its location is easily accessible to a vast cattle supply, including four large commercial feed yards.  National Beef Packing Company processes and markets fresh beef and beef byproducts for domestic and international markets.  This plant is one of the top producers within the company due to the strong work ethic of their employees. 

Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. located east of Liberal is home to the world's largest helium liquefier.  The unit produces over 600 million scfy of helium, tripling Liberal's capacity to more than 1 billion scfy.  Liberal purifies and liquefies crude helium obtained from an adjacent gas processing plant owned by National Helium Corp, a subsidiary of Duke Energy Corp., and from a connecting pipeline owned and operated by the US Bureau of Land Management.  Helium applications include MRI systems refrigerant, diving gasses, novelty balloons, space shuttle missions, electronics, semi conductor manufacturing and fiber optic production heat transfer agents .