Bulk of U.S. Corn Production Moving North
(DTN) Is the bulk of U.S. corn production switching to more northerly latitudes in response to better returns than other crops and perhaps more favorable weather? Over the past two years, states such as the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan have had the best corn yields in the country relative to their 20-year trends.
To test this theory, we looked at the annual corn production in each of the top 18 producing states and also each state's production as a percent of the total U.S. crop. We then calculated the annual percent change in the state's corn production and the percent change in that state's proportion of the national corn crop using data from 2001 to 2011, using USDA's September estimate for this year's production.
The results are reflected in the accompanying graphic and show, for example, that corn production in Illinois has increased by an average 1.7% annually over the past 11 seasons. On the other hand, the Illinois corn crop as a percent of the total U.S. corn crop has declined by an average annual rate of 0.8% over the past 11 years.
As we suspected, it is the more northern states that have increased production and now account for a larger proportion of the total U.S. corn crop. North Dakota is the real standout, with average corn production increasing by 11.3% on average each year since 2001 while its percentage of the national corn crop has risen by an average rate of 8.5% over the past 11 years. Other states, such as Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Michigan, show a similar pattern with the opposite trend occurring in the southern states such as Texas and North Carolina.
Reasons abound why this may be, but certainly returns from planting corn have exceeded those for other crops in that part of the country, especially compared with some of the specialty oilseeds and higher-protein wheat that are usually seeded. We have also noticed that the trend toward increasing corn plant populations is most pronounced in this region, which has enhanced yields. Finally, as demonstrated the past two seasons, corn does not like hot weather, especially in the critical phase of its developmental period, and these states all have much cooler readings than states more in the central and southern sections of the Corn Belt.
http://www.dtnprogressivefarmer.com
To test this theory, we looked at the annual corn production in each of the top 18 producing states and also each state's production as a percent of the total U.S. crop. We then calculated the annual percent change in the state's corn production and the percent change in that state's proportion of the national corn crop using data from 2001 to 2011, using USDA's September estimate for this year's production.
The results are reflected in the accompanying graphic and show, for example, that corn production in Illinois has increased by an average 1.7% annually over the past 11 seasons. On the other hand, the Illinois corn crop as a percent of the total U.S. corn crop has declined by an average annual rate of 0.8% over the past 11 years.
As we suspected, it is the more northern states that have increased production and now account for a larger proportion of the total U.S. corn crop. North Dakota is the real standout, with average corn production increasing by 11.3% on average each year since 2001 while its percentage of the national corn crop has risen by an average rate of 8.5% over the past 11 years. Other states, such as Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Michigan, show a similar pattern with the opposite trend occurring in the southern states such as Texas and North Carolina.
Reasons abound why this may be, but certainly returns from planting corn have exceeded those for other crops in that part of the country, especially compared with some of the specialty oilseeds and higher-protein wheat that are usually seeded. We have also noticed that the trend toward increasing corn plant populations is most pronounced in this region, which has enhanced yields. Finally, as demonstrated the past two seasons, corn does not like hot weather, especially in the critical phase of its developmental period, and these states all have much cooler readings than states more in the central and southern sections of the Corn Belt.
http://www.dtnprogressivefarmer.com
Posted by Colvin & Co. at 9/28/2011 5:30 AM 
Categories: Farmland
Tags: corn farming Minnesota Illinois South Dakota North Dakota
Categories: Farmland
Tags: corn farming Minnesota Illinois South Dakota North Dakota
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