2011 Corn Yield by County
February 27, 2012 by Jacob Bates, CCA
2011 Corn Yield by County.
Recently the USDA released their 2011 county corn yield estimates. This communication serves to not only provide the raw data in the table that is attached but will allow to visibly compare how each county performed in recent years. The first map highlights the results from the most recent 2011 crop year. The second map shows the current 5-year average (2007-2011). And finally, the third map contrasts how 2011 compared to the previous 5-year average (2006-2010) in terms of percent yield obtained. Note that the legend changes slightly for each of the three maps to better show distribution amongst the counties.
These three maps, along with the raw data, will hopefully put the 2011 crop year in perspective. It also sheds some light on how your county and surrounding areas have been performing in regards to corn production over time. This information shows how your yields compare to others in your county and across the whole state. All of this data was gleaned from the USDA/NASS web database.
Map 1. 2011 corn crop yields by county. Northeast Iowa was definitely the garden spot last year. You can also see that trends in counties typically known for high yields were off the pace due to things like windstorms, lack of rain and disease.
Map 2. Current 5-year (2007-2011) corn yield average by county. This map shows where the highest yielding corn producing counties on a bushel/acre basis have been over the last 5 years.
Map 3. Percent yield for 2011 vs. previous 5-year average (2006-2010). This map really highlights how each individual county fared in 2011. Counties with a percentage less than 100% failed to meet their 5-year average yield. Counties above 100% exceeded their 5-year average. This map depicts who the "winners" and "losers" were in regards to the 2011 crop meeting each county's expectations.
