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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.

2015 Corn Yields

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.

2015 Soybean Yields

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:

TopSoil Moisture Condition - July 3, 2016

2016 US Corn Belt Tour
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