Iowa corn production up in 2011, soybean acres, yield down

Iowa's corn producers planted and harvested more acres in 2011 than in the previous year, but soybean production and yield per acre was down from 2010, according to a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Corn for grain production in Iowa during 2011 is estimated at 2.36 billion bushels, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service annual crop production summary. The estimate is up nearly 1 percent from the Nov. 1 forecast and up 9 percent from 2010.

Iowa's corn producers averaged 172 bushels per acre, up 1 bushel from the Nov. 1 forecast and 7 bushels from last year. Area harvested for grain is up 50,000 acres from the previous forecast at 13.7 million acres, nearly 5 percent above 2010.

Corn planted for all purposes in Iowa, at 14.1 million acres, was up 5 percent from 2010.

It was a decidedly different story for soybeans with production is estimated at 466 million bushels in 2011, down less than 1 percent from the Nov. 1 forecast, and down 6 percent from 2010. Iowa's soybean farmers averaged 50.5 bushels per acre, unchanged from the Nov. 1 forecast and down half a bushel from last year's yield.

The harvested acreage of 9.23 million acres of soybeans is 5 percent below the 2010 estimate. The planted acreage of soybeans, at 9.35 million acres, is 5 percent below 2010.

Iowa hay production is estimated at 3.46 million tons, down 8 percent from the 3.76 million tons produced in 2010. Producers averaged 3.04 tons per acre.

Harvested acres for hay was estimated at 1.14 million acres, down 5 percent from the previous year.

Alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures production is estimated at 2.79 million tons, down 7 percent from 2010. Producers averaged 3.4 tons per acre.

Harvested alfalfa acres decreased by 7 percent from last year to 820,000 acres. Iowa producers seeded 85,000 acres of alfalfa in 2011, down 37 percent from the previous year.