Percentage of land taken up by corn fields by state

[GON]

Wonder if a soybean chart would read almost the same percentage by state? Nebraska seems to be underperforming (cornhuskers)? Actually, I think western NB just isn't so favorable for corn crops. Missouri is lower than one might of guessed.

 

[fdcg27]

Here's a similar map for wheat:

In a number of states, soybean acreage exceeds that planted in corn. Many, maybe most farmers will alternate beans with corn since corn is a heavy consumer of fixed nitrogen, usually supplied using anhydrous ammonia or urea while soybeans can actually fix their own nitrogen.
Wheat is about what you would expect, since it seems to thrive in more arid climates.

 

[Kira]

NE is Nebraska's USPS abbreviation...it's early.

Now, what would be interesting is the percentage of the other crops in each state.

Perhaps Missouri's lack of corn reflects a large presence of soybeans?
There was nothing but wheat to be seen during my drive across Kansas.
I know lots of dairy farmers in NY and VT grow corn or buy it locally.
What percentage of Hawaii's land is used for pineapple cultivation?

GON's map says "taken up by...", fdcg27's says "Occupied by...".

 

[mrsilv04]

The soybean stats could be skewed slightly in Illinois since many farmers will have a wheat crop and a soybean crop in the same field in the same year. Not sure if these charts are adjusted for that or not.

As soon as the what comes out in June, they will jump in and plant a crop of a early maturing soybeans, and get two crops off of one field in one year. The early maturing soybeans won't produce as much, but it still turns a profit for the farmer.

And as previously mentioned, corn and beans are always rotated every year.

 

[RoadDukie]

Very interesting data. It certainly proves that the fly over states is where our food comes from.

It would be interesting to see the percentages of livestock (beef, pork, etc) per state. I'd guess it would reflect similarly to the grains.

 

[4WD]

But is this percentage of land - or percentage of crop land ?
I’m on the coastal prairies and a very high percentage of the land is crop land until I go north and it’s more hilly …

 

[4WD]

Very interesting data. It certainly proves that the fly over states is where our food comes from.

It would be interesting to see the percentages of livestock (beef, pork, etc) per state. I'd guess it would reflect similarly to the grains.

Well, even that could be questionable over say, rice !

 

[panthermike]

Having lived in Iowa, yes there are ALOT of both Having grown up in AZ, I need to go find those 0.1% lol, not something you see often here. Thanks for the data, interesting stuff.

 

[2005jettatdi]

We drove through Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas last week. We saw a lot of corn, beans and millet (sorghum?). Not quite so much wheat. A lot of the bean fields looks quite a ways from ready to harvest due to late planting.

 

[svtrit]

What is the intent of the corn map in the first post? I work in Ag, specifically in Corn Seed, so I am curious about the intent.

 

[Snagglefoot]

On the Canadian prairies Canola (Rape Seed) is King. More crushing plants are being constructed to increase the production of renewable diesel.

 

[The_Eric]

Iowa has the most amount of ground changed by man too. Prairies once covered something like 80% percent of our state and now they cover less than .1% And let's not get started on topsoil loss due to tillage or the chemicals that leach into the ground and run off from the fields.. but hey, it makes people rich.

 

[RoadDukie]

Well, even that could be questionable over say, rice !

Rice!!!!

Who in this world eats rice?

 

[PandaBear]

Rice!!!!

Who in this world eats rice?

Breakfast cereals?

 

[Snagglefoot]

Rice!!!!

Who in this world eats rice?

Hmm, actually it’s a staple food of over 1/2 the world’s population.

 

[97prizm]

View attachment 304800

Here's a similar map for wheat:

View attachment 304801

In a number of states, soybean acreage exceeds that planted in corn. Many, maybe most farmers will alternate beans with corn since corn is a heavy consumer of fixed nitrogen, usually supplied using anhydrous ammonia or urea while soybeans can actually fix their own nitrogen.
Wheat is about what you would expect, since it seems to thrive in more arid climates.

My Aunt and Uncle have a seed business and soil sampling business. The soybean percent seems low for Kentucky but maybe it varies?

 

[y_p_w]

But is this percentage of land - or percentage of crop land ?
I’m on the coastal prairies and a very high percentage of the land is crop land until I go north and it’s more hilly …

Corn, wheat, and soybeans are heavily biased towards crops grown in the midwest. Certainly in California (the #1 state in total agricultural revenue) there's a lot of mountains and extreme deserts that aren't suitable for farming. But the farmland that is available is some of the best farmland in the world.

The big crops in other states includes cotton and rice. This version of the map lists "principal crops". It doesn't include grazing lands though.

I mentioned rice, where production is concentrated in very specific areas.

 

[GON]

Listening to RFD radio this morning, the broadcast announcer stated ethanol uses 32 percent of the total corn production in the U.S.

Wonder if ethanol would be used for fuel production in the US. if it was not mandatory?

In other agriculture news, live cattle and feeder cattle have hit all time highest for eight consecutive days.