The Grain Crop Weight calculator computes the weight of a volume (e.g. 36,000 bushel) of a grain crop based on the pounds per bushel of the grain.
INSTRUCTIONS: Choose units and enter the following:
Grain Crop Weight (GCW): The calculator returns the weight in U.S. tons (2,000 lbs = 1 U.S. ton). However, this can be automatically converted to compatible units via the pull-down menu.
The following shows the recent market auction value placed on corn, soybean and wheat. This is updated weekly.
US Soybean Price Survey:
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US Corn Price Survey:
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US Wheat Price Survey:
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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 | |||
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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.
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: