George C. Ford, CR GAZETTE –
As they have done for 61 years, the corn producers of Kossuth County in north central Iowa in 2011 harvested the most acres for grain and led the state in corn production.
Kossuth County farmers planted 326,500 acres of corn last year, up from 311,000 acres in 2010. They harvested 321,500 acres for grain in 2011, an increase from 307,000 acres the previous year.
Kossuth farmers produced 57.8 million bushels of corn last year, up from 56.5 million bushels in 2010. The county has held the record for corn production in Iowa since 1994, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
The highest yields in 2011 were posted in northeast Iowa where five counties ranked in the top 10, led by Bremer County, which had the highest average yield of 196.5 bushels per acre. The three lowest yields were recorded in the southeastern district by
Davis County at 97.8 bushels per acre, Van Buren County with 100.9 bushels per acre, and Lee County at 105.3 bushels per acre.
Davis was the only county with an average yield of less than 100 bushels per acre.
Linn County farmers planted 165,500 acres of corn last year, up from 150,000 acres in 2010. They harvested 163,500 acres for grain in 2011, an increase from 146,000 acres the previous year.
Linn County farmers produced 27.7 million bushels of corn last year, up from 24.9 million bushels in 2010. The average yield was 169.1 bushels per acre, down from 170.3 bushels per acre in 2010.
Johnson County farmers planted 119,500 acres of corn last year, an increase from 110,500 acres in 2010. They harvested 117,500 acres for grain in 2011, up from 106,500 acres the year earlier.
Johnson County farmers produced 20.2 million bushels of corn last year, up from 16.1 million bushels in 2010. The average yield was 171.9 bushels per acre, up from 150.9 bushels per acre in 2010.
Four east central Iowa counties — Scott, Cedar, Clinton and Jones — recorded the highest soybean yields in 2011. Scott County soybean producers were tops with an average of 62.8 bushels per acre, followed by Cedar County at 61.2 bushels per acre, Clinton County at 60.5 bushels per acre and Jones County with 59.3 bushels per acre.
The counties producing the lowest yields were Davis at 32.1 bushels per acre and Van Buren at 34.5 bushels per acre in 2011.
Kossuth, Pottawattamie, Plymouth and Sioux were the four largest soybean-producing counties, retaining the title from 2010. In 2011, production in Pottawattamie County at 9.16 million bushels surpassed Plymouth County with 9.02 million bushels.
Linn County farmers recorded an average soybean yield of 56 bushels per acre in 2011, up from 53.8 bushels per acre in 2010. The county’s farmers produced 5 million bushels of soybeans last year, down from 5.5 million bushels per acre in 2010.
Johnson County soybean producers recorded an average yield of 54.2 bushels per acre in 2011, up from 48.9 bushels per acre the previous year. The county’s farmers produced 4.5 million bushels of soybeans last year, up from 4.2 million bushels per acre in 2010.
Counties along the Missouri River in west central and southwest Iowa experienced higher losses than normal due to extensive flooding. In Fremont County, farmers were unable to harvest over 15 percent of their soybean acreage and the yield on the acres they were able to harvest was almost 3 bushels per acre lower than 2010.
Of course Kossuth county harvest the most crops, it is the biggest county in Iowa.