United States Department of Agriculture

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2022 – Increased acreage and higher yields for corn and soybeans led to record high soybean production and near-record high corn production, according to the 2021 Crop Production Annual Summary released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

U.S. corn growers produced 15.1 billion bushels, up 7% from 2020 and the second highest on record. Corn yield in the United States is estimated at a record high 177.0 bushels per acre, 5.6 bushels above the 2020 yield of 171.4 bushels per acre. Area harvested for grain, at 85.4 million acres, is up 4% from 2020.

Soybean production for 2021 totaled a record-high 4.44 billion bushels, up 5% from 2020. With record high yields in 21 states, the average soybean yield is estimated at 51.4 bushels per acre, 0.4 bushel above 2020 and the second highest on record.

For 2021, all cotton production is up 21% from 2020, at 17.6 million 480-pound bales. The U.S. yield is estimated at 849 pounds per acre, up 2 pounds from last year’s yield. Harvested area, at 9.97 million acres, is up 20% from last year.

Also released today were the Winter Wheat and Canola Seedings and Grain Stocks reports. The Winter Wheat and Canola Seedings report provides the first indicator of this year’s winter wheat acreage. Planted area for harvest in 2022 is estimated at 34.4 million acres, up 2% from 2021.

In the Grain Stocks report, corn stored as of Dec. 1, 2021, was estimated to be up 3% from Dec. 1, 2020. Soybean stocks were up 7% from a year earlier. Corn stored in all positions totaled 11.6 billion bushels, while soybeans totaled 3.15 billion bushels. All wheat stocks were down 18% from a year earlier. All wheat stored in all positions on Dec. 1, 2021, totaled 1.39 billion bushels.

The full Crop Production 2021 Summary is available online at nass.usda.gov/Publications. The report contains year-end acreage, yield and production estimates for grains and hay; oilseeds; cotton, tobacco and sugar; dry beans, peas and lentils; and potatoes and miscellaneous crops.

The Crop Production report is published monthly and is available online at nass.usda.gov/Publications/Reports_by_Release_Day/index.php.