Midwest Yield Trends
2015 Corn & Soybean Yields in the US Midwest
In the western Corn-belt, most counties had yields above trend in 2015, but many parts of northern Indiana, northwest Illinois and western Ohio had yields below trend.
For US Midwest corn, many regions in eastern Nebraska, northern Iowa, southern Minnesota, and Illinois had yields over 200 bushels per acre. 3 counties in the Midwest had yields above 215 bushels per acre, and other counties had lower yields. Several regions outside eastern Nebraska, southern Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois had yields below 140 bushels per acre.

The U.S. corn yield at 171 bushels per acre was the second highest only to the record high from 2014 at 168.4 bushels per acre. In 2015, there were 7 out of the 12 key corn producing states that produced record yields!
Top U.S. Corn Producing States
|
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
RECORD |
IA |
181 |
165 |
172 |
137 |
164 |
178 |
192 |
192 |
IL |
174 |
157 |
157 |
105 |
178 |
200 |
175 |
200 |
IN |
171 |
157 |
146 |
99 |
177 |
188 |
150 |
188 |
MN |
174 |
177 |
155 |
165 |
159 |
156 |
188 |
188 |
NE |
179 |
166 |
160 |
142 |
169 |
179 |
185 |
185 |
KS |
155 |
124 |
107 |
95 |
126 |
149 |
148 |
155 |
MO |
153 |
123 |
114 |
75 |
136 |
186 |
142 |
186 |
OH |
171 |
160 |
153 |
120 |
174 |
176 |
153 |
176 |
SD |
151 |
135 |
132 |
101 |
137 |
148 |
159 |
159 |
ND |
115 |
132 |
105 |
122 |
110 |
124 |
128 |
132 |
WI |
153 |
162 |
155 |
120 |
145 |
156 |
164 |
164 |
MI |
148 |
149 |
153 |
132 |
155 |
161 |
162 |
162 |
U.S. TOTAL |
164.4 |
152.6 |
146.8 |
123.1 |
158.1 |
171 |
168.4 |
171 |
Record 2015 Corn Yields
Source: USDA/WASDE
US Midwest soybeans saw many regions with yields above 55 bushels per acre. Most these regions occurred in a band beginning in Nebraska, extending along southern Minnesota, going through northern and central Iowa, and ending in northern and central Illinois. Other places outside this area also had yields above 55 bushels per acre. 3 counties had yields over 70 bushels per acre, and lower yields occurred in many counties in North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri.

The 2015 U.S. soybean national average yield was a record high of 48 bushels per acre, and 6 out the 12 key Midwest soybean producing states had state record yields in 2015!
Top U.S. Soybean Producing States
|
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
RECORD |
IL |
46.0 |
51.5 |
47.5 |
43.0 |
49.0 |
56.0 |
56.0 |
56.0 |
IA |
51.0 |
51.0 |
51.5 |
45.0 |
45.5 |
51.5 |
56.5 |
56.5 |
MN |
40.0 |
45.0 |
39.0 |
43.5 |
42.0 |
42.0 |
50.0 |
50.0 |
ND |
30.0 |
34.0 |
29.0 |
34.5 |
30.5 |
34.5 |
32.5 |
34.5 |
MO |
43.5 |
42.0 |
36.5 |
30.0 |
36.0 |
46.5 |
40.5 |
46.5 |
IN |
49.0 |
48.5 |
45.5 |
44.0 |
51.5 |
56.0 |
50.0 |
56.0 |
NE |
54.5 |
52.5 |
54.0 |
41.5 |
53.5 |
54.0 |
58.0 |
58.0 |
SD |
42.0 |
38.0 |
37.0 |
30.5 |
40.5 |
45.0 |
46.0 |
46.0 |
OH |
49.0 |
48.0 |
48.0 |
45.0 |
49.5 |
52.5 |
50.0 |
52.5 |
KS |
44.0 |
32.5 |
27.0 |
23.0 |
37.0 |
36.0 |
38.5 |
44.0 |
MI |
40.0 |
43.5 |
44.0 |
43.0 |
44.5 |
43.0 |
49.0 |
49.0 |
WI |
35.0 |
50.5 |
46.5 |
42.0 |
39.0 |
44.0 |
49.5 |
50.5 |
U.S. TOTAL |
44.0 |
43.5 |
42.0 |
40.0 |
44.0 |
47.8 |
48.0 |
48.0 |
Record 2015 Soybean Yields
Source: USDA/WASDE
A good growing year for much of the western Corn-belt was witnessed in 2015, since most counties in the western Corn-belt had yields above trend. In many eastern Corn-belt counties, yields were below trend. Because of wet weather in spring and early summer, yields in northern Indiana, northeast Illinois and northeast Ohio suffered. As a whole, Illinois had mixed yields. In the state, corn yields varied from exceptional to well below average. Except for some counties in Northeast Illinois, most Illinois counties had yields above trend for soybeans.
Both US corn and soybean yield were above trend in 2015, with corn at 168 bushels per acre and soybean at 48 bushels per acre. Had eastern Corn-belt yields been higher, these national yields would have been higher. For us to see exceptionally high US yields, the vast majority of counties in the Midwest should have yields above trend. In 2015, US farm incomes were extremely low. Because of low yields, Northern Indiana, northeast Illinois, and northwest Ohio likely will have lower incomes than other areas. Consequently, in areas of low yields, financial reserves went down more.
USDA’s latest crop progress data, as of 3-July-2016, shows that ample rain which fell on the US Midwest, recently, has improved the soil moisture condition in the states there:
