U.S. corn plantings grew 10 percent in the past decade, driven by the commodity boom that began in 2006. Economist Gary Schnitkey says the expansion occurred mostly in the western Corn Belt, with North Dakota and South Dakota accounting for one-third of the increased U.S. acreage of 7.9 million acres.
Corn acreage in North Dakota doubled in the 10-year span ending in 2014 and 2015, says Schnitkey, and South Dakota’s plantings are up 28 percent. Together, the two states provided one-third of the additional corn land, according to figures Schnitkey posted at farmdoc daily. Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Minnesota also were growing more corn at the end of the 10 years.
“Growth occurred near and around the western Corn Belt while acres in the eastern Corn Belt remained relatively stable,” wrote Schnitkey. Throughout the land shift, Iowa and Illinois remained the top two corn-producing states. They grew one-third of the U.S. crop last year. South Dakota was the sixth-largest producer with 6 percent and North Dakota ranked 11th with slightly more than 2 percent of the U.S. crop of 13.6 billion bushels.