South Carolina's Corn Crop Yields Are Up (Quite a Lot, Actually) Since Last Year

Aug 17, 2023

By Scott Morgan

The cornfields of the Southeast are more abundant this year – nowhere more so, comparatively, than in South Carolina, thanks in large part to research from South Carolina.

Corn acreage planted in the Palmetto State this year was 390,000 acres, which is up 22% from the acres planted last year, according to the latest USDA Crop Production Report.

According to the Clemson University Extension, South Carolina farmers expect to produce 51.1 million bushels of corn this year, up 40% from 2022.

Compared to Alabama, Florida, and Georgia – the three other members of the USDA’s Southeastern Region – South Carolina’s total planted acres of corn saw the largest year-to-year increase in the region. Alabama’s corn acreage grew by 20%, which is exactly how much South Carolina’s peanut crops grew since last year.

South Carolina’s increase in peanut plant acres this year is also the largest for that crop in the Southeastern Region.

Researchers Michael Plumblee and Bennett Harrelson of the Clemson University Extension are being credited with helping regional farmers fight parasitic nematodes, which can be disastrous to crops like corn and soybeans. The researchers say that a nematicide to help protect the crops is showing promise; the researchers are experimenting with different configurations of crops, nematicide, and insecticides.

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Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?