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 75.9 million acres in 2008. The soybean production also increased from 2.38 to 3.2 billion bushels from 1996 to 2006 in the U.S. In 2007 and 2008, the soybean production was estimated at 2.7 and 2.9 billion bushels, respectively. In South Carolina, the acreage of planted soybean ranged from about 560 thousand acres in 1996 to 540 thousand acres in 2008. Table 1 shows the South Carolina soybean production by county in 2007.

The highest estimated acreage was for Florence, Darlington, Clarendon, Lee, Dillon, Williamsburg, Horry, Orangeburg, Sumter, and Marlboro Counties, which accounted for about 75.7% of total planted soybeans in the State in 2008 (Table 1). The highest soybean yields were recorded for Orangeburg, Lee, and Georgetown Counties, and ranged from 41 to 38 Bu/acre. The State average yield was estimated at 32 Bu/acre for 2008.

Table 1. 2008 Soybean production by County in South Carolina.

County Planted (acres) Harvested (acres) Yield (Bu/acre) Production (bushels)
Florence 59,000 57,300 32 1,819,300
Darlington 48,200 48,100 26 1,251,000
Clarendon 43,300 42,800 35 1,488,200
Lee 39,800 39,600 38 1,501,400
Dillon 39,500 39,300 31 1,209,600
Williamsburg 39,400 39,300 34 1,329,800
Horry 36,500 36,200 26 932,200
Orangeburg 35,500 34,900 41 1,422,200
Sumter 34,200 34,000 36 1,215,500
Marlboro 33,600 33,500 33 1,097,200
Marion 17,100 16,800 29 490,000
Allendale 12,200 12,100 29 353,800
Hampton 12,000 11,700 30 350,800
Chesterfield 11,500 11,400 32 364,700
Barnwell 8,900 8,300 29 242,600
Bamberg 8,300 8,250 32 262,600
Dorchester 8,000 7,900 36 283,400
Richland 6,400 6,100 36 218,100
Colleton 6,300 6,200 27 167,700
D20 Combined Counties 6,200 5,800 31 178,600
Aiken 6,100 5,000 26 130,100
D80 Combined Counties 4,500 4,050 25.5 102,900
Georgetown 4,200 4,100 38 154,800
Calhoun 4,200 4,100 32 130,600
Lexington 4,100 4,000 33 131,000
D40 Combined Counties 3,500 2,600 15 38,400
Edgefield 2,600 2,500 13 32,500
Anderson 2,200 1,900 13 24,800
D10 Combined Counties 1,500 1,150 15 17,100
Oconee 700 650 13 8,300
Spartanburg 500 400 27 10,800
State Total 540,000 530,000 32 16,960,000
 

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Page maintained by: Pawel Wiatrak, pwiatra@clemson.edu