Ever since Michigan corn farmers harvested a record crop of more than 355.8-million bushels in 2014, the state’s corn crop has been fading, dropping to 300.5-million a year ago, and despite increased yields per acre, the crop’s finally tally for the current year is yet to be determined. What we do know is that Cass County is a prolific provider to the state’s crop, clocking in as the 8th most productive county in the state in the most recent statewide county-by-county tally of 2016.
Berrien and Van Buren County both rank in the top 25 historically speaking, but neither can match the statewide average yield calculated in recent weeks by the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan, though Berrien comes close.
Jim Zook is Executive Director of the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan. He says, “Variability is the word of the year (in 2018) when we talk about corn yields.” He adds, “With challenging weather conditions across different parts of the planting and growing season, we’re seeing huge swings in yields even across the same county.” He concludes, “With all that said, we’re still on track for strong overall yields thanks to technology, good genetics, and the ingenuity of Michigan farmers.”
Ionia County produced the highest average yields in the Corn Marketing Program’s 2018 Between the Rows Tour conducted just last week. While the statewide average corn yield checks in at 169.4 bushels per acre, Ionia averaged 191.8 bushels per acre with the yield range running from 139 to as many as 285 bushels per acre.
Cass County averaged 180.2 bushels per acre with a range between 149 and 233 bushels. Berrien’s corn farmers averaged 166.1 bushels per acre with a range from 124 to 214, while Van Buren farmers averaged 150.8 per acre and a range of 78 to 213.
The Between the Rows Tour included 350 yield samples across 32 counties and was weighted by average production for each county. The lowest performer on average in the state was Calhoun County near Battle Creek where the average yield per acre was 137.1 bushels and a range from 101 to 179. Allegan County’s farmers averaged 182.7 bushels per acre with a range of 142 to 241.
The 2018 survey was the 4th Annual Between the Rows Tour hosted by the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan, wherein staff conducted county-by-county yield checks and hosted a dinner each night to update local farmers on yield findings, agronomy challenges, marketing outlook and the work of the association.
The most recent nationwide USDA numbers are from 2014 and across the USA farmers grew more than 14.2-billion bushels on 83 million acres of land. Last year the national average was 171 bushels per acre while the average yield in Michigan was estimated at 161 bushels per acre, so Michigan’s yield is on the rise, but the total volume is yet to be determined.
Most of Michigan’s crop is exported out-of-state with the majority of it destined for the Southeast United States where it is fed to livestock. However, 27-percent of Michigan’s crop was used to make ethanol and during the process distillers grains are made. Distillers grains are a high-protein livestock feed that displace the need for about 18-million bushels of corn. 20-percent of the crop is fed to animals here in Michigan.
Lenawee County in Michigan holds the highest annual bushel count in the state with a 5-year average of 15.32-million bushels produced. Cass County ranks 8th with a 5-year average of 12.78-million bushels produced. Berrien County’s three-year average production topped 7.74-million bushels while Van Buren’s two-year average was 7.1-million. Berrien and Van Buren final data for two and three of the five years respectively was incomplete in the Corn Marketing Program records.
