Top Corn, Soybean Producing Counties in Illinois

According to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the top corn and soybean producing counties in America are located in Illinois.

Iowa of course remains the top corn and soybean producing state in the United States.

As for corn production, La Salle County was the leading producer, with 60.166 million bushels harvested in 2011. For soybeans, McLean County, in Illinois was the top producer with 14.374 million bushels harvested.

The two counties are the largest in Illinois, helping to boost corn and soybean production, but cooperative weather in the area for 2011 was also a big factor in the good harvest.

Other Illinois counties outperformed the two larger counties on average, with Woodford County have an average yield of 186.5 bushels of corn an acre against La Salle County’s 177.3 bushels an acre., and Knox County produced 61.2 bushels of soybeans an acre against McLean’s 55.4 bushel average.

Potash (NYSE:POT) Up on Lower Corn Yields

The corn crop in the U.S. is ending up lower than expected, and that has pushed up a number of companies, including fertilizer giants Potash (NYSE:POT), Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) and Agrium (NYSE:AGU).

That doesn't seem like it'll have any effect on the offer of BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) bid for the company.

Agricultural equipment makers like Deere (NYSE:DE) have also moved up some, although they have pulled back some after the initial push.

Overall the harvest is expected to end about 4 percent lower for corn, although estimates are almost 25 percent lower than earlier projections.

Ohio Corn Crop Strong So Far in 2010

The corn crop in Ohio has been very strong this year, as a wet and warm spring resulted in the crop taking off in most areas, already reaching as high as 10 feet tall on a number of farms.

Planting season also began early, giving it a head-start on the year. Weather throughout the growing season has also remained humid and warm, providing the best conditions corn could have.

If a moderate amount of rain is the outcome for the latter part of the growing season, Ohio could possibly break their record corn harvest set last year of 165 bushels an acre.

Colorado Corn Harvest Up 22 Percent Over 2009

The latest estimates of the U.S. Department of Agriculture have Colorado corn farmers increasing their corn harvest by 22 percent over 2009, with projections of 1.2 million acres of corn to be harvested.

According to the USDA report released last week, corn producers in Colorado planted 1.35 million acres of corn this year. That takes into account corn for all uses.

In the U.S., altogether about 87.9 million acres of corn have been planted this year, an increase of 2 percent over 2009.

Concerns over whether or not there will be enough for animal feed has caused wheat prices to move up over the last month.