US Soybean Production by State: Ranking the Top 11

We review the top rankings of soybean production by state.  An overview of US crop production statistics is also available.

In 2021 Illinois produced 672.6 million bushels of soybeans, making it the number one state producer of soybeans in the United States.

Where are soybeans grown in the United States?

US production of soybeans occurs mostly int the midwestern states and is concentrated most in Illinois and Iowa. 
The graphic below shows the regions where soybean production is most concentrated. 

What is the primary cause of year-to-year variations in soybean production?

The primary cause of year-to-year variation in soybean production from state-to-state is year-to-year variations in:

1. The number of acres planted by producers to grow soybeans, and
2. The weather conditions that occur during the soybean growing season.

CropProphet uses daily weather conditions to forecast the end-of-season USDA estimated yield and production.  

CropProphet provides weather-based corn yield (and soybean) production forecasts.  In other words, we help grain traders, grain merchandisers, and discretionary and systematic commodity traders manage weather risk.  A wide range of grain commodity traders seize grain market trading opportunities using CropProphet by knowing the differences between market perceptions of corn production and our forecast.  As the market perception corrects towards the CropProphet forecasts corn prices change. Our customers have an information advantage in the grain market.  

Discover the benefits of CropProphet now.

Follow this link if you are interested in state corn yield per acre rankings. 

Table of Contents

2000-2004	2005-2009	2010-2014	2015-2019	2020-2021
2000	2005	2010	2015	2020
2001	2006	2011	2016	2021
2002	2007	2012	2017
2003	2008	2013	2018
2004	2009	2014	2019

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2021

The top 11 soybeans-producing states (and their total production) of 2021 was:

Production Rankings: 2021
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Illinois	672.6
2	Iowa	621.9
3	Minnesota	356.3
4	Nebraska	350.9
5	Indiana	335.6
6	Missouri	276.9
7	Ohio	275.7
8	South Dakota	215.6
9	Kansas	189.6
10	North Dakota	181.6
11	Arkansas	153.5

State Soybean Production – 2021

The USDA NASS reported 29 2021 soybean-producing states. These states produced at least more than 4.4 billion bushels of soybeans. As can be seen in the chart above, while Illinois was the number one producer of soybean at 672 million bushels while Iowa was not far behind with 621 million bushels of soybeans. These two states produced almost 24% of the US soybean crop in 2021.

National soybean prices (i.e. soybean futures prices) each year are impacted not only by the market’s perception of the amount of national soybean production but frequently also by how much soybean a specific state produces. In addition, local cash crop basis prices are directly impacted by the market perceptions of the soybean production forecasts at the county level. This can have a direct impact on the profitability of the soybean producer. As a result, understanding not only soybean production but also forecasts of corn production can have important financial implications for all-grain market participants.

Top 11 Rankings of State Soybean Production Over Time

The ranking of the top 11 states producing soybean seems to be relatively stable since 2016, we can look at the change in ranking over time. Unlike in a similar chart of the changes over time of state corn production rankings, we see the top 5 soybean producers alternate regularly. Undoubtedly this is due to weather conditions or changes in planted acres.

The ranking data in the graph above is also provided below but includes the total soybean production as well. You can view a history of state soybean yield for a few of the highly ranked states as well.

 

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Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2020

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2020 was:

Production Rankings: 2020
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Illinois	604.8
2	Iowa	494.0
3	Minnesota	359.2
4	Indiana	329.4
5	Nebraska	294.1
6	Missouri	290.5
7	Ohio	263.0
8	South Dakota	223.9
9	North Dakota	190.9
10	Kansas	190.3
11	Arkansas	139.0

State Soybean Production – 2020

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2019

The top 11 soybean producing states (and their total production) of 2019 was:

Production Rankings: 2019
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Illinois	532.4
2	Iowa	501.6
3	Minnesota	297.9
4	Nebraska	283.1
5	Indiana	273.4
6	Missouri	230.5
7	Ohio	209.2
8	Kansas	186.3
9	North Dakota	170.1
10	South Dakota	146.2
11	Arkansas	127.9

State Soybean Production – 2019

2019 was an interesting year for soybean production forecasting because of early-season precipitation and its impact on the evolution of the yield forecast, which can be seen below.

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2018

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2018 was:

Production Rankings: 2018
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Illinois	666.8
2	Iowa	550.5
3	Minnesota	374.9
4	Indiana	342.7
5	Nebraska	324.2
6	Ohio	281.1
7	Missouri	257.2
8	South Dakota	251.1
9	North Dakota	239.4
10	Kansas	201.7
11	Arkansas	162.1

State Soybean Production – 2018

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2017

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2017 was:

Production Rankings: 2017
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Illinois	611.9
2	Iowa	566.6
3	Minnesota	384.3
4	Nebraska	326.0
5	Indiana	320.8
6	Missouri	292.5
7	Ohio	252.0
8	North Dakota	243.2
9	South Dakota	241.2
10	Kansas	191.6
11	Arkansas	178.5

State Soybean Production – 2017

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2016

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2016 was:

Production Rankings: 2016
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Illinois	593.0
2	Iowa	566.4
3	Minnesota	389.5
4	Indiana	323.7
5	Nebraska	314.1
6	Missouri	271.5
7	Ohio	263.8
8	South Dakota	255.9
9	North Dakota	248.6
10	Kansas	192.5
11	Arkansas	145.2

State Soybean Production – 2016

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2015

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2015 was:

Production Rankings: 2015
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	553.7
2	Illinois	544.3
3	Minnesota	377.5
4	Nebraska	305.7
5	Indiana	275.0
6	Ohio	237.0
7	South Dakota	235.5
8	North Dakota	185.9
9	Missouri	181.0
10	Arkansas	155.3
11	Kansas	148.6

State Soybean Production – 2015

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2014

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2014 was:

Production Rankings: 2014
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Illinois	547.1
2	Iowa	498.3
3	Indiana	301.9
4	Minnesota	301.7
5	Nebraska	287.8
6	Missouri	259.9
7	Ohio	246.2
8	South Dakota	229.9
9	North Dakota	202.5
10	Arkansas	158.4
11	Kansas	140.6

State Soybean Production – 2014

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2013

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2013 was:

Production Rankings: 2013
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Illinois	474.0
2	Iowa	420.9
3	Minnesota	278.0
4	Indiana	267.3
5	Nebraska	255.2
6	Ohio	222.3
7	Missouri	202.0
8	South Dakota	185.5
9	North Dakota	141.2
10	Arkansas	140.9
11	Kansas	131.0

State Soybean Production – 2013

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2012

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2012 was:

Production Rankings: 2012
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	419.0
2	Illinois	384.0
3	Minnesota	304.5
4	Indiana	225.3
5	Nebraska	207.1
6	Ohio	206.6
7	North Dakota	163.2
8	Missouri	158.1
9	South Dakota	144.0
10	Arkansas	137.0
11	Kansas	87.9

State Soybean Production – 2012

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2011

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2011 was:

Production Rankings: 2011
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	475.3
2	Illinois	423.2
3	Minnesota	274.6
4	Nebraska	261.4
5	Indiana	240.7
6	Ohio	217.9
7	Missouri	190.2
8	South Dakota	150.6
9	Arkansas	126.3
10	North Dakota	114.8
11	Kansas	103.4

State Soybean Production – 2011

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2010

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2010 was:

Production Rankings: 2010
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	496.2
2	Illinois	466.1
3	Minnesota	329.0
4	Nebraska	267.8
5	Indiana	258.5
6	Ohio	220.3
7	Missouri	210.4
8	South Dakota	157.3
9	Kansas	140.2
10	North Dakota	138.4
11	Arkansas	110.2

State Soybean Production – 2010

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2009

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2009 was:

Production Rankings: 2009
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	486.0
2	Illinois	430.1
3	Minnesota	284.8
4	Indiana	266.6
5	Nebraska	259.4
6	Missouri	230.6
7	Ohio	222.0
8	South Dakota	176.0
9	Kansas	162.4
10	Arkansas	122.6
11	North Dakota	116.1

State Soybean Production – 2009

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2008

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2008 was:

Production Rankings: 2008
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	449.7
2	Illinois	428.6
3	Minnesota	264.9
4	Indiana	244.3
5	Nebraska	226.0
6	Missouri	191.1
7	Ohio	161.3
8	South Dakota	138.0
9	Arkansas	123.5
10	Kansas	120.2
11	North Dakota	105.3

State Soybean Production – 2008

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2007

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2007 was:

Production Rankings: 2007
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	448.8
2	Illinois	360.2
3	Minnesota	267.3
4	Indiana	220.3
5	Ohio	199.3
6	Nebraska	196.3
7	Missouri	175.1
8	South Dakota	136.1
9	North Dakota	108.6
10	Arkansas	101.5
11	Kansas	86.1

State Soybean Production – 2007

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2006

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2006 was:

Production Rankings: 2006
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	510.0
2	Illinois	482.4
3	Minnesota	322.6
4	Indiana	284.0
5	Nebraska	250.5
6	Ohio	217.1
7	Missouri	194.2
8	South Dakota	130.9
9	North Dakota	121.9
10	Arkansas	107.4
11	Kansas	98.6

State Soybean Production – 2006

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2005

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2005 was:

Production Rankings: 2005
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	525.0
2	Illinois	439.4
3	Minnesota	309.4
4	Indiana	263.6
5	Nebraska	235.3
6	Ohio	201.6
7	Missouri	181.7
8	South Dakota	134.8
9	North Dakota	105.8
10	Kansas	105.4
11	Arkansas	102.0

State Soybean Production – 2005

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2004

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2004 was:

Production Rankings: 2004
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	497.4
2	Illinois	495.0
3	Indiana	284.3
4	Minnesota	232.7
5	Missouri	223.2
6	Nebraska	218.5
7	Ohio	207.7
8	South Dakota	140.1
9	Arkansas	122.8
10	Kansas	111.1
11	North Dakota	82.1

State Soybean Production – 2004

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2003

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2003 was:

Production Rankings: 2003
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Illinois	379.6
2	Iowa	342.9
3	Minnesota	238.4
4	Indiana	204.1
5	Nebraska	182.2
6	Ohio	164.8
7	Missouri	146.0
8	South Dakota	115.5
9	Arkansas	111.3
10	North Dakota	88.4
11	Kansas	57.0

State Soybean Production – 2003

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2002

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2002 was:

Production Rankings: 2002
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	499.2
2	Illinois	453.6
3	Minnesota	308.9
4	Indiana	239.5
5	Nebraska	176.3
6	Missouri	170.0
7	Ohio	151.0
8	South Dakota	126.8
9	Arkansas	96.5
10	North Dakota	86.8
11	Michigan	78.5

State Soybean Production – 2002

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2001

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2001 was:

Production Rankings: 2001
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	480.5
2	Illinois	477.9
3	Indiana	273.9
4	Minnesota	266.4
5	Nebraska	222.9
6	Ohio	187.8
7	Missouri	186.2
8	South Dakota	143.0
9	Arkansas	91.2
10	Kansas	87.4
11	North Dakota	70.7

State Soybean Production – 2001

Soybean Production by State: Top 11 of 2000

The top 11 soybean-producing states (and their total production) of 2000 was:

Production Rankings: 2000
Rank	State	Production (M bu)
1	Iowa	464.6
2	Illinois	459.8
3	Minnesota	293.1
4	Indiana	252.1
5	Ohio	186.5
6	Missouri	175.0
7	Nebraska	173.8
8	South Dakota	152.9
9	Arkansas	80.3
10	Michigan	73.1
11	Wisconsin	60.0

State Soybean Production – 2000

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