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.
In 2007, Orangeburg, Clarendon, Sumter, and Lee Counties had the highest corn acreages and accounted for 37% of the corn grown in South Carolina (Table 1).
The highest average yields at 122 and 113 Bu/acre were estimated for Sumter and Clarendon Counties, respectively. The average yield for the State was 110 Bu/acre in 2006 and 100 Bu/acre in 2007.
Table 1. 2007 County corn production in South Carolina.
| County | Planted (acres) |
Harvested (acres) |
Yield (Bu/acre) |
Production (bushels) |
| Orangeburg | 47,900 |
46,100 |
108 |
4,997,200 |
| Clarendon | 35,500 |
35,200 |
113 |
3,965,500 |
| Sumter | 33,700 |
32,000 |
122 |
3,916,800 |
| Lee | 31,800 |
27,700 |
94 |
2,606,100 |
| Williamsburg | 25,000 |
23,700 |
95 |
2,257,400 |
| Horry | 24,700 |
24,000 |
106 |
2,553,600 |
| Florence | 23,500 |
22,600 |
106 |
2,404,600 |
| Darlington | 23,000 |
22,100 |
89 |
1,976,500 |
| Dillon | 14,100 |
14,000 |
91 |
1,279,600 |
| Allendale | 13,700 |
13,300 |
83 |
1,107,200 |
| Calhoun | 12,000 |
11,800 |
102 |
1,203,200 |
| Hampton | 11,300 |
10,800 |
86 |
923,400 |
| Richland | 9,700 |
8,800 |
90 |
795,500 |
| Barnwell | 9,000 |
8,600 |
65 |
560,000 |
| Colleton | 8,900 |
7,600 |
79 |
596,600 |
| Marion | 8,400 |
8,000 |
102 |
815,600 |
| Dorchester | 8,300 |
7,500 |
101 |
760,200 |
| Bamberg | 8,000 |
7,200 |
96 |
687,600 |
| Lexington | 7,800 |
7,700 |
104 |
803,800 |
| Marlboro | 6,100 |
5,300 |
107 |
569,700 |
| Newberry | 5,600 |
1,100 |
80 |
87,900 |
| Chesterfield | 5,200 |
5,000 |
98 |
490,600 |
| Aiken | 4,600 |
3,700 |
71 |
263,600 |
| Berkeley | 3,100 |
2,600 |
70 |
182,400 |
| Kershaw | 2,900 |
2,600 |
101 |
263,600 |
| D40 Combined Counties | 2,500 |
1,500 |
76 |
113,600 |
| Georgetown | 2,400 |
2,200 |
109 |
239,000 |
| D10 Combined Counties | 1,800 |
1,100 |
65 |
71,000 |
| D80 Combined Counties | 1,600 |
1,000 |
103 |
102,500 |
| Fairfield | 1,500 |
1,400 |
102 |
143,000 |
| D20 Combined Counties | 1,400 |
800 |
84 |
66,900 |
| Anderson | 1,300 |
300 |
30 |
9,000 |
| Edgefield | 1,200 |
800 |
70 |
56,300 |
| Spartanburg | 1,100 |
800 |
74 |
58,900 |
| Charleston | 800 |
700 |
60 |
42,000 |
| York | 600 |
400 |
74 |
29,600 |
| State Total | 400,000 |
370,000 |
100 |
37,000,000 |
The mention of any commercial product in this publication does not imply its endorsement by Clemson University over other products, nor does omission of the product imply that it is not satisfactory. Pesticide labels are constantly being revised, so please read and follow label directions carefully before you buy or apply pesticides.