Introduction
Corn is one of the main row crops in the United States. According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, corn acreage increased from 80.2 to 93.6 million acres and total production increased from 9.76 billion bushels to 13.1 billion bushels in the U.S. from 1998 to 2007. For the same period, the acreage of planted corn increased in South Carolina from 350,000 acres to 400,000 acres. About 355,000 acres of corn were planted in South Carolina in 2008.
The Orangeburg, Sumter, Clarendon, Horry, Lee, Williamsburg, Darlington, and Florence Counties accounted for about 60% of total planted corn in the State in 2008 (Table 1). The highest estimated average yields per acre were obtained from Richland, Lexington, and Marlboro Counties, and ranged from 129 to 101 Bu/acre.
The average yield for the State was 110 Bu/acre in 2006, 100 Bu/acre in 2007, and 65 Bu/acre in 2008.
Table 1. 2008 Corn production by County in South Carolina.
| County | Planted (acres) | Harvested (acres) | Yield (Bu/acre) | Production (bushels) |
| Orangeburg | 37,900 | 30,700 | 76 | 2,348,500 |
| Sumter | 30,200 | 29,200 | 97 | 2,846,700 |
| Clarendon | 29,200 | 28,200 | 58 | 1,649,500 |
| Horry | 25,400 | 24,900 | 65 | 1,630,900 |
| Lee | 25,100 | 23,700 | 57 | 1,362,500 |
| Williamsburg | 23,500 | 20,200 | 39 | 797,800 |
| Darlington | 22,400 | 19,800 | 47 | 940,400 |
| Florence | 20,500 | 19,300 | 61 | 1,186,900 |
| Dillon | 15,100 | 14,500 | 59 | 862,700 |
| Allendale | 11,700 | 11,300 | 34 | 389,800 |
| D30 Combined Counties | 10,800 | 9,800 | 79 | 777,200 |
| Calhoun | 10,800 | 9,600 | 66 | 638,300 |
| Hampton | 9,700 | 8,400 | 50 | 424,100 |
| Richland | 8,200 | 8,100 | 129 | 1,048,200 |
| Dorchester | 8,000 | 7,400 | 49 | 361,400 |
| Colleton | 7,500 | 6,100 | 35 | 216,500 |
| Barnwell | 7,300 | 6,100 | 35 | 216,500 |
| Bamberg | 6,700 | 5,800 | 66 | 385,600 |
| D40 Combined Counties | 6,300 | 800 | 37 | 29,500 |
| Lexington | 6,100 | 5,800 | 116 | 675,100 |
| Marlboro | 5,200 | 5,100 | 101 | 517,600 |
| Aiken | 5,200 | 3,600 | 49 | 178,100 |
| Chesterfield | 4,600 | 4,200 | 44 | 185,000 |
| D10 Combined Counties | 3,800 | 2,500 | 60 | 151,200 |
| Berkeley | 2,900 | 2,500 | 66 | 166,200 |
| D80 Combined Counties | 2,600 | 1,500 | 73 | 109,700 |
| D20 Combined Counties | 2,400 | 2,100 | 60 | 126,100 |
| Kershaw | 2,300 | 2,200 | 87 | 192,400 |
| Saluda | 1,600 | 600 | 39 | 23,400 |
| Edgefield | 1,300 | 500 | 44 | 22,200 |
| York | 700 | 500 | 30 | 15,000 |
| State Total | 355,000 | 315,000 | 65 | 20,475,000 |
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