Today, farmers planting corn and soybean are using less acreage and seeing higher yields
For the last month and a half, tractors have been pulling fertilizer carts, tillage equipment and planters on our roads and in the fields as planting season begins. Corn and soybeans are the primary focus of spring planting in Muskingum County.
Based on the latest completed statistics from 2023, some 24,000 acres of corn and 20,000 acres of soybeans will be planted. In line with these statistics, more than 10% of Muskingum County's 424,960 acres will be used for growing these two crops this summer.
During the past more than 80 years, significant changes in crop production have taken place in the ever changing farming industry. In 1950, Muskingum County had approximately 26,000 acres in corn, just a little more than the 24,000 current acres.
But a big change has taken place in county wheat production, which declined from the14,000 acres reported in 1950 to 680 acres reported in 2023. In 1950, soybeans were pretty much an afterthought in agriculture production with fewer than 600 acres planted. In fact, soybeans did not even show up in the county agricultural report until 1940 when 100 acres were planted.
As soybean profits increased in the 1970s and 1980s to the present, so has the acreage planted, seemingly replacing wheat acreage on county farms. The decreased wheat acreage has had several side effects including a decrease in the supply of straw for livestock bedding, making the straw more valuable than in the past.
Total crop acreage in Muskingum County seems to have remained fairly consistent over the last 75 years, even though the crops planted have changed. An additional factor that has changed is the yield per acre.
The 26,000 acres of corn planted in 1950 produced only an average of 50 bushels per acre, or about 650,000 bushels total, while the 24,000 acres of corn planted in 2023 had an estimated average of 175 bushels an acre for a total of 4.2 million total bushels. The soybeans of 1950 produced only 20 bushels per acre. Soybeans in 2023 were reported to be averaging 50 bushels per acre.
Going back to the Civil War era, corn is reported to have averaged 33 bushels per acre and wheat only 10 bushels per acre. Some sources say that during the Civil War more than 80,000 acres, almost twice the current crop acreage, were in production growing additional crops such as rye, buckwheat, oats and barley. I have trouble even thinking about feeding the armies, let alone the family members at home on crop yields of 33 and 10 bushels per acre.
Agriculture is always changing. What you saw yesterday growing, planting and harvesting in the fields may not be what you see tomorrow. Exciting changes have taken place and more are just around the corner as our farmers continue to produce more on less land than ever before.
Chuck Bell is a former 4-H educator for Muskingum County.
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Farmers see higher yields for corn and soybean planted on less acreage
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