The U.S. Department of Agriculture publishes an annual report on the yield rates of different crops, the USDA Crop Production Summary. It includes the amount of crop that an acre yields on average by state. Using recent grain crop pricing, this shows the simple math to identify what crop should be planted to maximize income.
| 2023 USDA Crop Yields in Bushels per Acre | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Soybean | Corn | Wheat |
| Pennsylvania | 47.0 | 157.0 | 76.0 |
| Maryland | 47.0 | 165.0 | 85.0 |
| Virginia | 38.0 | 157.0 | 78.0 |
| New Jersey | 43.0 | 168.0 | 82.0 |
| AVERAGE | 43.75 | 161.75 | 80.25 |
The math is pretty simple. To compute the value of a crop per acre you multiply the following:
Crop Value per Acre = Dollar per Bushel * Bushel per Acre
Using the average yield across the mid-Atlantic region for New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia and the current market auction price of corn, wheat and soybean (see Dollar per Bushel below), you can see that corn is the big winner in revenue per acre.
Obviously, main factor is the volume of corn that is yielded per acre, nearly four times as many bushels of corn than soybean and over twice as many bushels as wheat.
The above is all about yield and income. It does not take into account other variable costs such as:
| Crop Expenses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fertilizer | Seed | Machinery Fuel |
| Pesticides | Hauling | Machinery Repair |
| Dryer Fuel | Interest | Insurance and Miscellaneous |
All of the costs associated with these are to be taken into account when making your decision because:
Purdue University has a helpful guide on Crop Cost & Return.
The following shows the recent market auction value placed on corn, soybean and wheat. This is updated weekly.
| US Soybean Price Survey:
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US Corn Price Survey:
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US Wheat Price Survey:
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Grain Crop Calculators: