BUTLER/CUNNINGHAM

This site will change from time to time. Basic organization will remain constant.

click here to contact Mike Polioudakis, site developer

polioej@acesag.auburn.edu

Level 2

Ag Facts for US:

Specific Crop Yields

Selection of Similar Pages

Looking at yields requires that the reader play with USDA source files a bit. Please remember to use the "Back" button to maneuver around these sites and to come back to this site.

The first reference button at left ("Specific Crop Yields") takes the viewer to the USDA/NASS site. Under "Micromaps" in the lower right hand corner, the site produces a short list of representative row crops (corn, cotton, hay, soybeans and wheat) from which the reader can choose. For each crop, a table appears that shows the production and comparative yields for every state in the US. It will be immediately apparent which states are above or below the national yield averages for which crops. Alabama is below the national average for these major row crops because of its poor soils and extreme weather. It tends to rank at the bottom of all agricultural states.

The second reference button at left produces a summary table of yields for all the states for all these crops. From this table, it is easier to find the comparative rank of any particular state but harder to get specifics about yield.

It is possible to get fairly clear data on long-term yields for specific crops, both for particular states and for the country as a whole, but to do so requires some active participation by the reader. The third reference button at left leads the reader to the USDA/NASS Published Estimates Data Base (also "Quick Stats" or "On-Line Data Base").The fourth button leads to a set of instructions for obtaining statistics from that site (it is not very hard but it takes several steps until you get used to it). You should read the material from the fourth button before using the third button.

The fifth button contains a sample of data from that site, the corn production in the US as a whole, from 1900 to the present, in 5 year increments; you will need Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet software product that can read "comma delimited" files. Note that total acres planted goes down but that yield per acre goes up more than enough to compensate.

It is difficult to get detailed historical data comparing several states and/or several crops all on one screen. Some such data has been assembled by departments within Auburn University or offices within the State of Alabama. Data on specific crops for Alabama will be referenced in this site under the web page for Alabama Agricultural Facts.