Iowa Agriculture Statistics 2023

Iowa Agriculture and Land Use

• Land Use (acres):

  • Total land: 36,016,500 acres
  • Land in farms: 33,359,000 acres
  • Cropland: 25,968,200 acres
  • Pastureland: 3,104,500 acres
  • Woodland: 2,358,600 acres
  • House lots, ponds, roads: 897,100 acres
  • Land in CRP/WRP: 1,030,600 acres

• Prime Farmland:

  • Iowa's prime farmland (USDA definition) decreased slightly between 1977 and 2012. - 1977: 19,127,000 acres; 5.55% of US total - 2012: 18,399,900 acres; 5.83% of US total

• Crop Production Calories:

  • Calculated 2023 total Calories produced: 383 trillion calories
  • Major crops & calorie contributions:
    • Corn grain: approximately 2.35 * 10¹⁴ calories
    • Soybeans: approximately 6.6 * 10¹³ calories
    • Forage/pasture: approximately 8.0 * 10¹³ calories
    • Small Grains: approximately 4.2 * 10¹¹ calories
    • Local food crops: approximately 1.6 * 10¹² calories

Iowa Demographics and Economics

• Population:

  • Approximately 3 million people in Iowa
  • About 2 million live in urban areas and 1 million in rural areas
  • Adult educational attainment: 26.8% with bachelor's degrees or higher

• Agriculture Industry:

  • Livestock production:
    • Approximately 60 million pigs annually
    • Approximately 16.5 billion eggs annually (from 60 million laying hens)
  • Farm numbers:
    • Approximately 85,000-90,000 farms in Iowa (with significant drop from 184,000 in 1960)
    • Operator gender: 93% men, 7% women
    • Farms per county approximately 500 to 1,000

• Farmland Value:

  • Total farmland value: approximately $200 billion (nearly twice that of 20 years ago)
  • Average value/acre: $11,835 (a 600% increase from 20 years ago)

• Crop Value:

  • Annual crop value: $15 to $40 billion (past 20 years)
  • Specific values for forage, small grains, and local food crops are difficult to estimate

• Farmland-Population correlation:

  • Farm numbers don't correlate with population in a county

Crop Yield Trends

• Corn Yield Prediction:

  • Using historical data, projected Iowa corn yield in 2084 is approximately 350 or 313 bushels per acre
  • Calculation based on exponential growth since 1935, assuming 1.88 (year)-93 equation.

• Soybean Yield Prediction:

  • Predicted Iowa soybean yield in 2084 using 1960-2015 data: Approximately 85 bushels per acre.

• GMO Impact:

  • Corn Yield: GMO technology introduction has increased yields by approximately 2.2 bushels per acre per year with an approximately 56% certainty, w/o changing the yield growth slope compared to 1935.

Additional Notes

• Feeding Potential of Iowa Crops:
  • Crops could feed 525 to 60-80 million people (depending on dietary assumptions)