> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# GRAPHIC: Corn and soybean production could be close to record highs this year, USDA predicts
- URL: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/graphic-corn-and-soybean-production-could-be-close-to-record-highs-this-year-usda-predicts/
- Published: 2021-09-15T13:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T18:10:57.000Z
- Description: Iowa and Illinois, the top two states by crop production, have seen high levels of production this year.
- Author: Ignacio Calderon, USA TODAY Network Agriculture Data Fellow, Investigate Midwest
- Tags: Agribusiness, Data Harvest, Corn, Crop Yields, TP::Explainer, soybeans, Yields, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-06-18 04:56

This year, the amount of corn and soybeans produced is expected to be the second- and third-highest, respectively, on record.

High yields in both crops are expected in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to a recent [report](https://www.investigatemidwest.org/content/files/downloads-usda-library-cornell-edu/usda-esmis/files/tm70mv177/n8710p68v/m326n1124/crop0921.pdf) published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The federal government predicts there will be 15 billion bushels of corn and 4.37 billion bushels of soybeans produced this year — a 5.7% increase from 2020.

The top two states by crop [production](https://www.investigatemidwest.org/content/files/www-nass-usda-gov/Newsroom/Executive%5FBriefings/2021/09-10-2021.pdf), Iowa and Illinois, are expected to produce 7.4% and 8.4% more corn and 19.7% and 11.6% more soybeans, respectively.

However, extreme weather might affect production in other states.

“Hurricane Ida’s impacts, which included flooding rains, damaging winds, power outages, and a coastal storm surge, were still being assessed,” the USDA said in its report.

The late-August hurricane became the strongest storm to hit Louisiana's coastline and moved through the state’s sugarcane, rice and cotton fields.

Lead photo: *Corn harvest begins on the Ken Dalenberg farm north of Mansfield, IL on Monday, September 13, 2021\. photo by Darrell Hoemann/Investigate Midwest*