Charting 150 Years Of Corn, Wheat, & Soy Yields In America

America can grow three-times as much corn from a single acre of land as it can wheat and soy. This is the story of how corn became king in America.

To understand how this happened, Visual Capitalst’s Pallavi Rao visualizes the yields (measured in bushels per acre) for all three crops over the last century.

Data for this graphic is sourced from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Corny American Love Story

In 2023, America produced 500 million metric tons of corn, a figure so astoundingly large, it compares to the weight of 7,000 Great Pyramids of Gaza. And all of that corn was grown on 92 million acres of land—an area bigger than Malaysia.

But America’s colossal corn-producing prowess didn’t always exist, as seen in the yield data from 1866.

Year	Corn Yield	Wheat Yield	Soybean Yield
1866	24.3	11.0	N/A
1867	24.7	12.6	N/A
1868	26.2	12.9	N/A
1869	21.8	13.7	N/A
1870	29.3	12.1	N/A
1871	27.2	12.2	N/A
1872	29.4	11.8	N/A
1873	22.9	12.9	N/A
1874	22.2	13.0	N/A
1875	27.7	11.1	N/A
1876	26.7	10.9	N/A
1877	25.8	14.1	N/A
1878	26.2	13.5	N/A
1879	28.2	13.0	N/A
1880	27.3	13.2	N/A
1881	19.8	11.0	N/A
1882	26.5	15.1	N/A
1883	24.2	12.3	N/A
1884	28.3	14.8	N/A
1885	28.6	11.4	N/A
1886	24.1	14.1	N/A
1887	21.9	13.3	N/A
1888	29.1	12.1	N/A
1889	29.5	14.0	N/A
1890	22.1	12.2	N/A
1891	29.6	16.5	N/A
1892	24.7	14.2	N/A
1893	23.8	12.4	N/A
1894	20.2	13.5	N/A
1895	28.0	13.9	N/A
1896	30.0	12.8	N/A
1897	25.4	14.0	N/A
1898	26.8	15.2	N/A
1899	28.0	12.5	N/A
1900	28.1	12.2	N/A
1901	18.2	15.0	N/A
1902	28.5	14.9	N/A
1903	26.9	13.7	N/A
1904	28.2	12.9	N/A
1905	30.9	15.2	N/A
1906	31.7	16.0	N/A
1907	27.2	14.2	N/A
1908	26.9	14.3	N/A
1909	26.1	15.5	N/A
1910	27.9	13.7	N/A
1911	24.4	12.4	N/A
1912	29.1	15.1	N/A
1913	22.7	14.4	N/A
1914	25.8	16.1	N/A
1915	28.1	16.7	N/A
1916	24.1	11.9	N/A
1917	26.2	13.2	N/A
1918	23.9	14.8	N/A
1919	26.8	12.9	N/A
1920	29.9	13.5	N/A
1921	27.8	12.7	N/A
1922	26.3	13.8	N/A
1923	27.8	13.3	N/A
1924	22.1	16.0	11.0
1925	27.4	12.8	11.7
1926	25.7	14.7	11.2
1927	26.4	14.7	12.2
1928	26.3	15.4	13.6
1929	25.7	13.0	13.3
1930	20.5	14.2	13.0
1931	24.5	16.3	15.1
1932	26.5	13.1	15.1
1933	22.8	11.2	12.9
1934	18.7	12.1	14.9
1935	24.2	12.2	16.8
1936	18.6	12.8	14.3
1937	28.9	13.6	17.9
1938	27.8	13.3	20.4
1939	29.9	14.1	20.9
1940	28.9	15.3	16.2
1941	31.2	16.8	18.2
1942	35.4	19.5	19.0
1943	32.6	16.4	18.3
1944	33.0	17.7	18.8
1945	33.1	17.0	18.0
1946	37.2	17.2	20.5
1947	28.6	18.2	16.3
1948	43.0	17.9	21.3
1949	38.2	14.5	22.3
1950	38.2	16.5	21.7
1951	36.9	16.0	20.8
1952	41.8	18.4	20.7
1953	40.7	17.3	18.2
1954	39.4	18.1	20.0
1955	42.0	19.8	20.1
1956	47.4	20.2	21.8
1957	48.3	21.8	23.2
1958	52.8	27.5	24.2
1959	53.1	21.6	23.5
1960	54.7	26.1	23.5
1961	62.4	23.9	25.1
1962	64.7	25.0	24.2
1963	67.9	25.2	24.4
1964	62.9	25.8	22.8
1965	74.1	26.5	24.5
1966	73.1	26.3	25.4
1967	80.1	25.8	24.5
1968	79.5	28.4	26.7
1969	85.9	30.6	27.4
1970	72.4	31.0	26.7
1971	88.1	33.9	27.5
1972	97.0	32.7	27.8
1973	91.3	31.6	27.8
1974	71.9	27.3	23.7
1975	86.4	30.6	28.9
1976	88.0	30.3	26.1
1977	90.8	30.7	30.6
1978	101.0	31.4	29.4
1979	109.5	34.2	32.1
1980	91.0	33.5	26.5
1981	108.9	34.5	30.1
1982	113.2	35.5	31.5
1983	81.1	39.4	26.2
1984	106.7	38.8	28.1
1985	118.0	37.5	34.1
1986	119.4	34.4	33.3
1987	119.8	37.7	33.9
1988	84.6	34.1	27.0
1989	116.3	32.7	32.3
1990	118.5	39.5	34.1
1991	108.6	34.3	34.2
1992	131.5	39.3	37.6
1993	100.7	38.2	32.6
1994	138.6	37.6	41.4
1995	113.5	35.8	35.3
1996	127.1	36.3	37.6
1997	126.7	39.5	38.9
1998	134.4	43.2	38.9
1999	133.8	42.7	36.6
2000	136.9	42.0	38.1
2001	138.2	40.2	39.6
2002	129.3	35.0	38.0
2003	142.2	44.2	33.9
2004	160.3	43.2	42.2
2005	147.9	42.0	43.1
2006	149.1	38.6	42.9
2007	150.7	40.2	41.7
2008	153.3	44.8	39.7
2009	164.4	44.3	44.0
2010	152.6	46.1	43.5
2011	146.8	43.6	42.0
2012	123.1	46.2	40.0
2013	158.1	47.1	44.0
2014	171.0	43.7	47.5
2015	168.4	43.6	48.0
2016	174.6	52.7	51.9
2017	176.6	46.4	49.3
2018	176.4	47.6	50.6
2019	167.5	51.6	47.4
2020	171.4	49.7	51.0
2021	176.7	44.5	51.7
2022	173.4	46.5	49.6
2023	177.3	48.6	50.6

In fact, for the first half of the 20th century, yields remained range-bound between 20–30 bushels per acre.

Then, there were two miracles. First, the introduction of a drought-resistant variety of the crop (1940s). Then, the introduction of fertilizer, pesticides, and mechanized agriculture (1950s).

Since then, corn yields have climbed at a rate of roughly 1.9 bushel/acre, per year.

Why Are Corn Yields So Much Higher Than Soy and Wheat?

Corn has a high energy density which directly translates into more food per acre. It’s also better at turning sunlight into biomass, meaning it grows faster. Both of these qualities make it the preferred crop to sow.

Compared to soybean (mostly animal feed and export to Asia) and wheat (mostly for humans), it’s also a far more versatile grain.

All of this means it attracts significant investment for varied uses: in animal feed, biofuel production, and the creation of high-fructose corn syrup. This investment helps fund research into the continuous improvement of corn yields.

Despite lower yields compared to corn, the U.S. is still a major wheat producer. Check out Breaking Down Global Wheat Production, by Country, to see where it ranks.