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

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.

Tyler Durden
Sun, 09/22/2024 – 20:25

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/NtXg3q8 Tyler Durden

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