The refrain of “The Iowa Corn Song” – ” We’re from I-o-way, I-o-way, That’s where the tall corn grows” – could be rewritten to say, “That’s where the corn yields grow.” Economist David Widmar looked at county-by-county corn yields in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa from 1950 to 2012, and found large difference in yield trends. “The county average yield trend is nearly 16% higher in Iowa than in Indiana,” Widmar writes in the blog, Agricultural Economic Insights. Over the 62-year span, yields in Indiana rose by 1.64 bushels per acre per year, by 1.72 bushels in Illinois, and 1.9 bushels in Iowa.
“These differences were large and could play a significant role in determining the earnings that farmland owners will receive over the long run,” wrote Widmar. “Know what kind of yield increases you might expect over time when you buy that farm and assess carefully whether the farm is priced appropriately.”
For a rousing 90-second version of the Corn Song, performed at marching band tempo, click here.