Feds raise Iowa corn yield estimate amid record national production

Iowa averaged about 201 bushels of corn per acre last year, an estimate that eclipsed the previous year’s yields and ranks fourth-highest in the state’s history, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

That figure is an increase of one bushel per acre from previous USDA estimates during the recent harvest and is just three bushels shy of the 2021 record. And that is despite drought conditions that have lingered in the state for more than three years.

“Even with all the weather challenges last year, Iowa remained a production powerhouse,” said Mike Naig, the state’s agriculture secretary, “and that’s a testament to the assistance of timely rains, the resiliency of Iowa farmers, and continuous improvements in genetics, traits, equipment, technology, production methods and many other innovations.”

The state produced about 2.52 billion bushels of corn for grain in 2023, its fifth-highest total for a single year.

Illinois, which was less affected by drought in the recent growing season, had a higher yield average of 206 bushels per acre but planted about 15% fewer acres of corn.

The USDA also estimates that national corn yields and total production set new records. Those yields averaged about 177.3 bushels per acre, and total production was about 15.3 billion bushels.

Iowa’s soybean production in 2023 was also robust, with average yields of 58 bushels per acre — the state’s fourth-highest — and total production of about 573 million bushels — the state’s third-highest.

Drought conditions are expected to persist in much of Iowa through at least the end of March, according to the federal Climate Prediction Center. About 83% of the state is suffering from some measure of drought, and about a third of Iowa has extreme drought — the second-to-worst classification.

That is considerably worse than a year ago, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, when just over half of the state had drought.