Local grain producers reported corn and soybean yields from the 2022 production year at just above the state average, a year after record-setting yields locally in 2021.
Rock County farmers averaged a corn yield of 196.8 bushels per acre in 2022 from 129,400 harvested acres. In 2021 local producers pushed the county’s corn yield record from 127,600 acres of 206.4 bushels per acre.
The state corn yield average for 2022 was 195 bushels per acre.
Renville County led the state in corn grain production, harvesting a total of 52.9 million bushels. (Rock County had 25.4 million bushels).
Martin County led all Minnesota counties with a corn yield average of 224.9 bushels per acre.
For corn silage, Rock County producers harvested 4,680 acres in 2022 with an average yield of 22 tons per acre, down from 24 tons per acre in 2021.
The state corn silage yield average for 2022 was 21.5 tons per acre.
Stearns County led the state in corn silage, harvesting 1.2 million tons in 2022. Wabasha, Dodge and Mower counties tied for the highest corn silage yields in 2022 with an average of 26 tons per acre.
In soybean production for 2022, local farmers harvested 6.4 million bushels from 108,200 acres in Rock County with an average yield of 55.5 bushels per acre. In 2021 producers harvested a near record-setting 61.5 bushels per acre.
The state average for soybean production in 2022 was 50 bushels per acre.
Faribault County led soybean production in the state with the harvest of 11.1 million bushels in 2022. (Rock County had 6 million). Steele County achieved the highest soybean yield in 2022 with an average of 63 bushels per acre.
Several weather events affected Rock County in 2022 including a May 12 derecho, which barreled across the county with 70 mph winds, followed by tornado-like cells over Memorial Day weekend. Extreme heat settled into the county in late June, bringing drought conditions through the summer into the fall harvest season.
State set corn yield records in 2022
According to farm management analyst Kent Thiesse, the 2022 corn yield average of 195 bushels per acre is a new statewide record. This surpasses 194 bushels per acre in 2017, he noted in his March 5 “Focus on Ag” column.
Soybean yields didn’t rise to the record set in 2016 of 52 bushels per acre, but came close with 50 bushels per acre.
Thiesse noted extreme drought conditions continued to impact 2022 crop yields in the neighboring states of South Dakota and Nebraska. The average corn and soybean yields for South Dakota for 2022 were 135 and 38 bushels per acre respectively. Nebraska recorded average yields of 165 bushels per acre for corn and 49 bushels per acre for soybeans.