The Crop Value Estimation calculator computes the estimated crop value based on the land planted, yield and the dollar per bushel expected.
INSTRUCTIONS: choose units and enter the following:
- (A) Acres Planted (e.g. corn, soybeans, wheat)
- (YPA) Yield per Acre
- (DPB) Dollars per Bushel
Crop Value (HV): The calculator returns the value in U.S. dollars
The Math / Science
Grain Crop Dollar per Bushel
The following shows the recent market auction value placed on corn, soybean and wheat. This is updated weekly.
|
US Soybean Price Survey:
- Date: 3/27/23
- State: MD
- Region: Western
- Price (low): $12.79 USD/bu
- Price (high): $14.64 USD/bu
|
US Corn Price Survey:
- Date: 3/27/23
- State: MD
- Region: Western
- Price (low): $5.69 USD/bu
- Price (high): $7.36 USD/bu
|
US Wheat Price Survey:
- Date: 3/27/23
- State: MD
- Region: Western
- Price (low): $6.93 USD/bu
- Price (high): $7.16 USD/bu
|
Grain Crop Yield Stats
To compute the return on investment in planting a grain crop, one needs to know the market value of the grain in dollars per bushel, and the yield that one's land will produce in the grain. From there, the math is pretty simple. Estimating your grain yield is possible, but the US Department of Agriculture provides annual statistics on crop yields by state. The USDA grain crop yield values for the mid-Atlantic states (PA, NJ, MD, VA) are shown in the table to the right.
| 2022 USDA Crop Yields in Bushels per Acre |
| State |
Soybean |
Corn |
Wheat |
| Pennsylvania |
43.0 |
140.0 |
73.0 |
| Maryland |
43.0 |
165.0 |
78.0 |
| Virginia |
41.0 |
167.0 |
68.0 |
| New Jersey |
28.0 |
115.0 |
70.0 |
| AVERAGE |
38.75 |
146.75 |
72.25 |
To compute the value of a crop per acre you multiply the following:
Crop Value per Acre = Dollar per Bushel * Bushel per Acre
Using the average yield across the mid-Atlantic region and the current market auction price of corn, wheat and soybean (see Dollar per Bushel above), you can see which crop has the highest ROI per acre.
Crop Value per Acre
- Corn: $1080.08 USD/acre = 146.75 bu/acre * $7.36 USD/bu
- Soybean: $567.3 USD/acre = 38.75 bu/acre * $14.64 USD/bu
- Wheat: $517.31 USD/acre = 72.25 bu/acre * $7.16 USD/bu
Obviously, main factor is the volume of corn that is yielded per acre, nearly four times as many bushels of corn than soybean and over twice as many bushels as wheat.
Grain Crop Calculators:
- Grain Crop Weight Estimation - Estimate the weight of a grain harvest based on the number of bushels and pounds per bushel of the grain.
- Grain Crop Value Estimation - Estimate the value of a grain crop based on the acres planted, yield per acre and dollar per bushel.
- US Corn Pricing Survey - Regular survey of market prices of corn
- US Wheat Price Survey - Regular survey of market prices of wheat
- US Soybean Price Survey - Regular survey of market prices of soybean
- Quantity Required for Moisture Blending - Computes the amount of grain needed of one moisture level to mix with another to achieve a desired moisture level.
- Corn Yield Estimation Calculator - Estimate the size of corn harvest (number of bushels) while the crop is still in the field based on a sample, acres planted and quality factors (kernel size and moisture).
- Crop Value Estimation - Estimate the value of a crop based on the acres planted, yield per acre and dollar per bushel.
- Corn Products - Estimates the amount of derivative products that can be produced based on a volume (number of bushels) of corn including: pounds of beef, pork and poultry, corn oil and ethanol.
- 100th Acre Row Length - Computes how long a row has to be to constitute being 1/100 of an acre based on the spacing of the rows.