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 77.5 million acres in 2009. The soybean production also increased from 2.38 to 3.36 billion bushels from 1996 to 2009 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 590 thousand acres in 2009. Table 1 shows the South Carolina soybean production by county in 2009.

The highest estimated acreage was for Florence, Darlington, Williamsburg, Horry, Dillon, and Lee Counties. The highest soybean yields were estimated for York, Oconee, and Dorchester Counties (34, 32, and 30 Bu/acre, respectively). The State average yield was estimated at 24.5 Bu/acre for 2009.

Table 1. 2009 Soybean production by County in South Carolina.

County

Planted (acres)

Harvested (acres)

Yield (Bu/acre)

Production (bushels)
Florence 58,300 56,100 26 1,450,000
Darlington 52,200 50,000 22 1,110,000
Williamsburg 48,000 46,000 29.5 1,355,000
Horry 43,000 41,200 23 949,000
Dillon 42,500 41,000 23 942,000
Lee 40,000 38,800 26 1,010,000
Clarendon 38,500 38,000 19.5 749,000
Orangeburg 38,100 37,000 27.5 1,020,000
Sumter 35,000 32,700 21.5 709,500
Marlboro 31,000 29,400 26.5 773,000
Marion 21,000 20,700 26.5 545,000
D80 Combined Counties 18,500 15,400 20 309,200
Hampton 12,900 12,300 28 341,500
Chesterfield 12,500 12,300 21 260,100
Dorchester 12,400 12,200 30 365,500
Allendale 12,000 11,700 21.5 250,000
Calhoun 10,500 10,300 26 265,500
Colleton 10,000 9,700 18.5 180,800
Bamberg 9,000 8,700 23.5 203,000
Aiken 7,500 6,900 25 171,000
Richland 6,500 6,100 27 166,000
Georgetown 4,500 4,300 22.5 95,900
Lexington 4,400 4,100 29.5 120,000
D40 Combined Counties 4,200 4,000 24 96,500
Kershaw 3,100 3,000 16 47,500
Newberry 3,000 2,700 28.5 77,500
York 2,400 2,400 34 81,000
Anderson 2,200 1,800 29 52,300
D20 Combined Counties 2,200 2,100 30 63,000
D10 Combined Counties 1,500 1,250 22 27,800
Lancaster 1,200 1,100 9.5 10,500
Oconee 1,000 950 32 30,200
Spartanburg 900 800 19.5 15,700
State Total 590,000 565,000 24.5 13,843,000

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