Introduction
Pawel Wiatrak
Soybean is one of the major row crops in the United States. According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, the acreage of planted soybeans increased in the U.S. from about 64.2 million acres in 1996 to 75.5 million acres in 2006. In 2007, the acreage decreased by about 15.6% compared to 2006. The soybean production also increased from 2.38 to 3.2 billion bushels from 1996 to 2006 in the U.S. In 2007, the soybean production was estimated at 2.6 billion bushels. In South Carolina, the acreage of planted soybean ranged from about 560 thousand acres in 1996 to 450 thousand acres in 2007. Table 1 shows the South Carolina soybean production by county in 2007.
The highest estimated acreage was for Florence, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Williamsburg, Horry, Sumter, and Lee Counties. These top Counties accounted for about 64.1% of total planted soybeans in the State in 2007. The highest estimated soybean yields were for Florence, Clarendon, and Darlington Counties and ranged from 30 to 32 Bu/acre. The updated State average yield was 19 Bu/acre in 2007.
Table 1. 2007 County soybean production in South Carolina.
| County | Planted (acres) |
Harvested (acres) |
Yield (Bu/acre) |
Production (bushels) |
| Florence | 52,300 |
49,500 |
17 |
852,500 |
| Clarendon | 36,100 |
34,900 |
25 |
863,500 |
| Darlington | 36,000 |
33,900 |
15 |
497,500 |
| Dillon | 35,000 |
33,000 |
12 |
389,500 |
| Williamsburg | 33,500 |
31,600 |
24 |
762,700 |
| Horry | 32,400 |
30,900 |
19 |
597,000 |
| Sumter | 31,800 |
31,000 |
19 |
586,700 |
| Lee | 31,500 |
30,000 |
16 |
475,200 |
| Marlboro | 26,800 |
25,100 |
13 |
334,800 |
| Orangeburg | 24,700 |
24,000 |
32 |
761,300 |
| Marion | 17,100 |
16,600 |
20 |
331,500 |
| Chesterfield | 11,400 |
10,700 |
13 |
140,500 |
| Allendale | 10,800 |
10,400 |
20 |
210,800 |
| Hampton | 8,200 |
7,800 |
30 |
232,800 |
| Barnwell | 6,400 |
6,200 |
18 |
114,000 |
| Dorchester | 6,200 |
6,000 |
30 |
180,000 |
| Colleton | 5,600 |
5,400 |
22 |
116,900 |
| Bamberg | 5,500 |
5,200 |
20 |
106,000 |
| Aiken | 4,700 |
4,500 |
20 |
88,000 |
| Richland | 4,200 |
4,100 |
13 |
53,100 |
| Newberry | 3,300 |
2,000 |
11 |
22,000 |
| D20 Combined Counties | 3,000 |
2,900 |
13 |
38,200 |
| Calhoun | 2,800 |
2,300 |
26 |
59,700 |
| Georgetown | 2,700 |
2,700 |
18 |
48,200 |
| Lexington | 2,700 |
2,400 |
16 |
39,100 |
| Anderson | 2,500 |
2,000 |
11 |
22,000 |
| D10 Combined Counties | 2,300 |
1,900 |
13 |
23,900 |
| Kershaw | 2,300 |
2,100 |
12 |
25,200 |
| Edgefield | 1,800 |
1,100 |
11 |
12,600 |
| York | 1,400 |
1,100 |
12 |
13,700 |
| D80 Combined Counties | 1,400 |
1,000 |
24 |
23,600 |
| Berkeley | 1,200 |
1,000 |
23 |
22,900 |
| Saluda | 1,100 |
600 |
17 |
9,900 |
| Oconee | 600 |
400 |
26 |
10,500 |
| Spartanburg | 500 |
500 |
13 |
6,500 |
| D40 Combined Counties | 200 |
200 |
14 |
2,700 |
| State Total | 450,000 |
425,000 |
19 |
8,075,000 |
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