Production for both corn and soybeans in 2022 was down from the prior year, according to the 2022 Crop Production Annual Summary released on Jan. 12 by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
U.S. corn growers produced 13.7 billion bushels, down 9% from 2021, with average corn yields estimated at 173.3 bushels/acre, 3.4 bushels below the 2021 record high yield of 176.7 bushels/acre. Area harvested for grain, at 79.2 million acres, was down 7% from 2021.
Soybean production for 2022 totaled 4.28 billion bushels, down 4% from 2021, with the average yield estimated at 49.5 bushels/acre, 2.2 bushels below 2021 and 0.7 bushel below the Nov. 1 forecast.
All cotton production for 2022 was down 16% from 2021, falling to 14.7 million 480-pound bales. The average cotton yield was estimated at 947 pounds/acre, up 128 pounds from 2021. Harvested area was reported at 7.44 million acres, down 28% from 2021.
NASS’s Winter Wheat and Canola Seedings and Grain Stocks reports on Jan. 12 projected the harvested area for winter wheat in 2023 at 37.0 million acres, up 11% from 2022. Corn stored as of Dec. 1, 2022, was estimated to be down 7% from Dec. 1, 2021, while soybean stocks were down 4% from a year earlier.
Corn stored in all positions totaled 10.8 billion bushels as of Dec. 1, 2022, while soybeans totaled 3.02 billion bushels. All wheat stocks were down 7% from a year earlier. All wheat stored in all positions on Dec. 1, 2022, totaled 1.28 billion bushels.