January 30, 2012

Wisconsin's 2011 corn yield posts second highest on record

Wisconsin farmers harvested 3.32 million acres of corn with an average yield of 156 bushels per acre, the second highest average on record, according to the annual report from the Wisconsin field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Wisconsin farmers saw a mix of weather in 2011, ranging from cold extending into May to hot temperatures through the mid-summer and a long stretch of dry weather during fall harvest.

Farmers also saw a range of production numbers with some crops showing year-over-year gains and other declines. Tallies of the 2011 growing season were issued Wednesday (Jan 25). The state's corn crop produced 518 million bushels of corn - a record. Average yield nationwide was 147.2 bushels per acre.

Production of corn for silage was pegged at 15.7 million tonnes, up from 14.3 tonnes in 2010, according to the report.

Wisconsin farmers saw a decrease in the average yield for soy, dropping to 46 bushels per acre from a record-high of 50.5 in 2010.

Average yield nationwide is about 41.5 bushels per acre, according to the report.

The state's farmers increased the number of acres of winter wheat last year by 105,000 acres for a total of 345,000. On average, the crop yield was 65 bushels per acre, up one bushel from 2010.