For the past 30 years, U.S. farmers have increased dramatically the amount of cropland that is planted to corn and soybeans — from 45 percent in the mid-1990s to 60 percent now — say four agricultural economists at the farmdoc daily blog.
“Between 1965 and 1994, the share of harvested principal crop acres accounted for by the two largest acreage crops fluctuated between 40 percent and 46 percent. Since 1994, the top two crop share has steadily increased from 45 percent to 60 percent,” said the blog. “This is also the period when corn and soybeans have consistently been the top two acreage crops. Prior to 1974, corn and hay were the top two crops. A transition period occurred between 1974 and 1994 as the second-largest acreage crop varied among hay, wheat, and soybeans.”
The shift to corn and soybean dominance among row crops coincided with the 1996 “freedom to farm” law that removed federal controls over plantings, noted the economists. Wheat and cotton plantings declined during the same period. Growers planted 94.9 million acres of corn, 83.6 million acres of soybeans, 49.8 million acres of wheat and 10.23 million acres of cotton this year.